A newborn baby has allegedly been abducted from the Comprehensive Health Centre in Gboko, Benue State, hours after delivery.
The incident reportedly occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, August 12, 2026, throwing the baby’s family and other patients into distress.
An activist, Zege’Orkwande Sughnen Yaaya, who disclosed the incident in a Facebook post on Wednesday, said the suspected abductor gained access to the maternity ward at about 4am and fled with the newborn.
According to Yaaya, the woman had allegedly been seen around the baby’s mother when she arrived at the health facility for delivery.
He said the woman was reportedly mistaken by nurses on duty for a relative accompanying the patient, a development that allegedly enabled her to gain access to the ward.
The activist said the suspect subsequently took the newborn and escaped from the facility.
Her identity and whereabouts remained unknown as of the time of filing this report, while the condition and whereabouts of the missing baby were also unknown.
Yaaya said the incident had been reported to security agencies, who were expected to commence investigation and intensify efforts to recover the child.
The development has raised fresh questions over security arrangements and access-control measures in health facilities, particularly maternity wards where newborn babies require heightened protection.
The incident also underscores concerns over the need for hospitals and primary healthcare facilities to strengthen the identification of patients’ relatives, visitor screening, ward access controls and monitoring of newborns.
Authorities in Benue State had yet to publicly disclose details of the investigation or confirm whether any suspect had been arrested as of press time.
The identity of the newborn’s mother was also not immediately disclosed.
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