Authorities in Ondo State have taken swift action by apprehending a nurse, health assistant, and security guard from the Comprehensive Health Centre in Emure-IIe, Owo Local Government Area. The arrests come in response to the perplexing disappearance of a newborn baby’s placenta.
SP Olufunmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, spokesperson for the state police command, confirmed the incident involving a nurse and two staff to reporters.
The father of the newborn, Tunde Ijanusi, aged 23, lodged a complaint at the Emure-Ile Police Division H after the nurse and her assistant were unable to produce the placenta when asked by the father. The baby girl was delivered on June 15 at the health center.
Expressing concern, Tunde Ijanusi expressed worry over the failure of the health workers to adhere to the traditional practice of providing the placenta. Mrs. Funmilayo Ijanusi, the baby’s paternal grandmother, voiced her dissatisfaction with the hospital officials’ claim that a dog had entered the facility and made off with the placenta. The health center staff even tried to persuade the family to drop the matter by offering to discharge the mother without any payment.
“The placenta holds immense significance for our family, as it symbolizes the child’s destiny. It is therefore perilous for it to fall into the wrong hands,” explained Mrs. Funmilayo Ijanusi.
Amidst the tainted joy over the newborn, the family remains hopeful that concerned Nigerians and the government will assist in the search for the missing placenta and ensure that justice is served on those responsible.
