By Ighomuaye Lucky. O
Anxiety and grief have enveloped residents of Gboko Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State following the alleged disappearance of a newborn baby boy from a hospital in the area, barely hours after his birth.
The incident reportedly occurred on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, shortly after the baby was delivered at the facility, leaving the family devastated and raising concerns over the circumstances surrounding the child’s disappearance.
According to a source familiar with the incident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the baby reportedly did not cry immediately after delivery, prompting the nurse on duty to intervene.
The source said the nurse subsequently attended to the newborn, after which the circumstances surrounding his alleged disappearance remain unclear.
The incident has reportedly sparked anxiety within the community, with the circumstances surrounding the newborn’s disappearance generating questions about what happened inside the hospital in the critical hours following his birth.
According to the source, the baby eventually responded normally and was subsequently transferred with his mother to a ward for further medical care.
However, the situation reportedly took a disturbing turn shortly after they arrived at the ward when a woman, who allegedly posed as a nurse, approached the mother and requested to examine the newborn.
The woman reportedly gained access to the baby under the guise of carrying out a routine examination, raising fresh concerns over how she was able to enter the ward and interact with the mother without arousing suspicion.
The source said the alleged incident has since left the family devastated and plunged the community into grief, with growing calls for the hospital and security authorities to urgently investigate the circumstances surrounding the baby’s disappearance.
The mother, believing that the woman was a hospital staff member, reportedly handed the baby over to her.
The alleged impersonator was said to have taken the baby towards the labour room.
The mother-in-law, who was accompanying the new mother, reportedly followed them and stood at the entrance of the labour room.
She was, however, allegedly asked to step aside and assured that everything was under control.
It was later discovered that the newborn was missing.
The source said, “Immediately after the baby was born, the infant did not cry as expected. The nurse on duty reportedly intervened and the newborn eventually responded normally.
“Thereafter, both the mother and the baby were taken to a ward. Not long after, an alleged child trafficker approached the mother of the newborn under the pretence of being one of the nurses.
“The suspect claimed they wanted to check the baby once again. The trafficker then took the baby from the mother and headed towards the labour room.
“Sensing something amiss, the mother-in-law who had been with her daughter-in-law followed and stood at the labour room’s entrance, but she was instructed to step back, with assurances that everything would be fine; so she complied. Shortly afterwards, the newborn baby boy was nowhere to be found.”
The nurses on duty reportedly denied taking the baby from the ward and also said the woman who allegedly presented herself as a nurse was not a member of their team.
The development reportedly attracted family members, sympathisers and other concerned persons to the hospital, creating tension within and around the facility.
Security operatives were subsequently deployed to the hospital to prevent the situation from escalating.
Sources said some of the nurses on duty, including the officer in charge, were taken by the police for questioning as investigations commenced.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Benue State Command, DSP Peter Aondongu, confirmed the incident.
Aondongu disclosed that the case occurred at a Family Healthcare Centre in Gboko and had been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Makurdi for a more thorough investigation, particularly in view of the growing public attention surrounding the matter.
The police spokesperson said investigators were working to establish the circumstances surrounding the newborn’s disappearance and determine what happened after the child was delivered.
He assured that the command would provide further details once more information had been obtained from the ongoing investigation.
Culled from Sun
