Three held after newborn stolen from Tamale hospital
By DL News
Published
2 min read
The suspects – two nurses and a security guard – were picked up on Sunday, 21 December, following the disappearance of the baby from One Heart Hospital at Lamashegu.
Police in Tamale have arrested three people after a newborn baby was stolen from a private health facility in the Northern Region.
The suspects – two nurses and a security guard – were picked up on Sunday, 21 December, following the disappearance of the baby from One Heart Hospital at Lamashegu.
They have been named by police as nurses Abubakari Fatima Bintu and Grace Asiedu Mensah, who were on duty at the time, and security officer Abukari Iddi.
The baby is still missing.
According to investigators, a woman believed to have posed as a nurse walked into the labour ward and told staff she was taking the newborn for an injection or further checks.
She then left the ward with the child and never returned.
Northern Regional Police PRO, Inspector Alhassan Luckman Niendow, said intelligence-led operations were under way to trace the baby and track down the prime suspect and any accomplices.
He added that the case was being treated as an urgent priority.
The baby’s mother, Abdul Mumin Safiyatu, told JoyNews she had briefly gone to use the washroom after delivery and returned to find her child gone, prompting panic on the ward.
An eyewitness also recounted seeing a woman enter the delivery room, introduce herself as a nurse and say she was taking the baby for vital checks before vanishing from the facility.
The child’s father, Bawa Sayibu, said he received a call at about 01:15 GMT informing him that his wife had delivered a baby boy.
He later purchased prescribed medicines and left the hospital at around 10:00.
“I was sitting with my colleagues when my sister called me crying and asked me to rush to the hospital,” he said.
“When I arrived, I was told the baby had been stolen.”
Mr Sayibu said several people were arrested after the family reported the incident to police, including one of his wives, who works at the hospital.
News of the disappearance sparked anger in the community, with residents of Lamashegu massing at the hospital to demand answers and improved security.
Locals have questioned how a stranger could remove a newborn from a ward without detection and are calling for stricter controls to better protect mothers and babies in health facilities.
