Gyang Bere, Jos
At last, Mrs Mary Chukwuebuka has regained her joy. The nursing mother was agonized and traumatized when Mrs Leritshimwa Diyal disguised herself as medical personnel of the Plateau Specialist Hospital, Jos, to steal her three-day-old female baby.
For the 17 days her baby was missing, Mrs Chukwuebuka was distraught as she wept uncontrollably. But after a persistent search, joy came back her way on Sunday June 16, when the hospital management finally handed over the recovered baby to her and her husband, Mr Nwa Chukwuebuka after several medical examinations.
The baby was found at Bingham University Teaching Hospital Jos under the custody of Mrs Leritshimwa Diyal who claimed that she was kidnapped pregnant and later gave birth in the kidnappers’ den.
Mrs Diyal had earlier claimed that she took the baby to Bingham University Teaching Hospital Jos for medical examination after she was released from the kidnappers’ den after her husband allegedly paid money for ransom into her account.
However, investigation revealed that Mrs Diyal has been enduring an eight-year-old childless union and was running out of patience. Therefore, on the fateful day of the theft of the baby, she disguised herself in a laboratory coat as medical personnel to take the baby of Mrs Chukwuebuka away from the labour ward under the guise that she was going to take the blood sample of the baby in the children’s ward of the hospital.
Escaping from the Plateau Specialist Hospital, Jos, she whisked the baby away to Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos where it was alleged her mother is a nurse for proper nursing before she could finally take the baby home.
But her plans were aborted as Mrs Chukwuebuka who was in excruciating pains in the hospital over her loss gave heat to the hospital management who reported the matter to the police.
This made the police to go round all hospitals in Jos, but couldn’t find the baby until the news of a woman who gave birth at the kidnappers’ den on Tuesday May 31, the same day Mrs Chukwuebuka gave birth at Plateau Specialist hospital filtered out.
The police invited Mrs Diyal for questioning and she insisted that the baby was hers, but without concrete evidence to back up her claims. Incidentally, her breasts, according to the police, were not like that of a woman who gave birth newly just as she showed other conflicting evidence.
She was, therefore, bundled up with the baby out of Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos to the Police Children’s Clinic Jos where the baby was kept for sometime while tests were ran on the two women to ascertain who actually is the biological mother of the baby.
The medical test carried out at the Police Children’s Clinic revealed that Mrs Diyal did not give birth while Mrs Chukwuebuka gave birth and she was absolutely sure that the baby in contention was hers and it was Mr Diyal that came to pick the baby from her as a doctor.
Mrs Chukwuebuka who spoke to Sunday Sun said that when she sighted the woman at the police station when she was invited, she got some relief because that was exactly the woman who disguised herself to pick her baby.
She revealed that tears were flowing freely from her eyes when the baby was crying helplessly in hunger and the suspected woman could not feed the baby with her breast milk.
“This was because she doesn’t have any and when the police forced her to feed the baby, she was struggling to squeeze out breast, but the baby was ready to expose them by refusing to suck because there was no milk in the breast.
“I was very sure that this was the woman who collected the baby. Somebody came to the hospital to show me her picture for me to identify her and I am very sure she was the one who came to collect the baby from me, pretending that she is a medical personnel.
“I went through hell, trauma and hardship, I wasn’t myself when this incident happened. I believe that the woman should have been patient and wait upon God to bless her with a baby rather than going to the extent of doing what she did.
“When they gave her the baby at the station to feed, she doesn’t have breast milk to feed the baby. The baby was crying and the woman was forcing the baby to take the breast, but the baby rejected it, I was bitter and my breast reacted when the baby was crying.
“The suspected woman and her mother were both there and they didn’t know what to do, she was acting as if she has never been a mother, the baby was ready to expose them the more because they were confused and don’t know what to do.
“I am very happy now that my joy has been restored, I have seen the baby and it is my baby, the hospital has given me my baby and I have forgiven that woman, I pray that God will give her pregnancy if that is what she really wanted.”
Mr Chukwuebuka appreciated Nigerians, especially the media, for divine intervention in the recovery of his newborn baby who was stole three days after birth.
“I want to thank good Nigerians for standing by us during the period our baby was stolen in the hospital, I thank God for revealing where the baby was taken to.”
Chukwuebuka explained that the police were feeding the baby with NAN, a baby food, for the period she was under their custody.
“It was on Monday June 17, that the baby was officially handed over to us by the management of the hospital and we are still there for the baby to be observed and certfied fit before we can be discharged to go home,” he said.
Last Thursday, 32-year-old Mrs Dayil, who stole the baby from Plateau Specialist Hospital Jos, was paraded by the police.
Mrs Dayil, a student of Collage of Health Technology Zawang, Jos South Local Government Area of the state is now cooling her feet in the cell of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Plateau State Police Command.
As she was paraded by the state Police Commissioner, Isaac Akinmoyede, she regretted her action and was crying profusely. Mrs Dayil had confessed to the crime when she was confronted with facts after the medical examination of the baby.
She confessed that the thought of committing suicide was running in her mind as she could no longer bear the shame and pains of being childless for seven years after marriage.
“I feel like killing myself, I stole the child to cover my shame in the society after marriage for seven years without a child. My plans was to have something to present to by husband and the society as my child, I don’t know what came over me.
“My husband was not aware of the whole thing, the two other suspects in the police custody are also innocent because they wanted to help me after hearing my convincing story, I stole the baby alone,” she said.
Mrs Dayil who stole the baby of Mrs Mary Chukwuebuka on Friday May 31, at the Plateau Specialist Hospital perfected her plans due to her knowledge of the hospital as she had done one of her industrial attachments in the hospital in the past and understands the working of the hospital.
She confessed to have known some of the weaknesses of the hospital, which made it easier for her to carry out the evil act.
The Plateau State Polic Commissioner, who paraded her in Jos said: “Due to the painstaking and diligent investigation coupled with medical reports, the police discovered that the suspect, Leritshimwa Dungjil Diyal has not given birth as she claimed.
“When confronted with this obvious and naked realities she broke down and confessed to the commission of the above-mentioned crime.
“She perfected her plans to steal the child by leveraging on her knowledge of Plateau State Specialist Hospital where she once did her attachment. She also faked her kidnapping story thinking it would give her a strong alibi.
“She took the child to Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos with the advice of her mother. The case will be charged to court after investigation”.
Meanwhile the management of Plateau Specialist Hospital has discharged Mrs Chukwuebuka from the hospital.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr Philimon Golwa, said that the hospital had to offset the medical bill of Mrs Chukwuebuka.
He disclosed that the hospital delayed the family in the hospital after the child was recovered from the suspect for few days to certify the child healthy and fit.
“We are going to take stringent measures in the hospital to avoid a repeat of anything like this. We thank God that the baby has been found and handed over to the parents,” he said.