Kano: No baby was kidnapped under our care

The Kano State Hospitals Management Board has refuted reports that a baby born at Waziri Shehu Gidado General Hospital was stolen under the care of the facility.

“The mother of the baby came on admission with the baby and his grandmother as the caretaker of the patient who was solely responsible for looking after the baby.

“On Friday, January 19, 2024, the grandmother of the child was holding the child out of the ward and decided to go and pray, in which a lady sitting next to her offered to hold the child for her. The grandmother didn’t hesitate and gave the child to the lady,” a statement by the board’s spokeswoman, Samira Suleiman clarified on Monday.

The statement added that it was after the grandmother came to take the baby that she noticed that the lady was nowhere to be found.

“It was at this juncture that the grandmother raised an alarm which prompted the attention of all the management, staff of the facility on duty and immediately searching began to see if they could find the lady.”

The facility sees more than 300 patients a day, some with babies who come in as patients or patient relatives.

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The statement noted that it was at this juncture that the hospital staff were alerted, and joined in searching for the child.

She added that it was not the hospital staff’s fault that the baby was stolen, but negligence by the baby’s caretaker.

“We call on everyone publicizing the story to verify and have facts before swinging into the action of spreading unverified information in order not to instill fear in the minds of the patients who visit the facility on a regular basis.”