Quack Doctor Arrested In Edo State Over Missing Newborn.

                                                                          The Edo State Police Command has arrested a 46-year-old man, Osaze Okungbowa, for allegedly posing as a medical doctor in connection with the disappearance of a newborn baby at a private health facility.

The arrest was confirmed by the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, who said the incident was reported by the baby’s mother, Princess Oke. She had accused the facility and its staff of foul play after her newborn reportedly went missing shortly after delivery.

According to the police, Okungbowa initially fled after the incident but was later tracked down and arrested two weeks later. Authorities say efforts are still ongoing to locate the missing baby and uncover the full circumstances surrounding the case.

Speaking to journalists, Okungbowa admitted he was not a qualified medical doctor, stating that he only had training as an auxiliary nurse. He said he worked in a private hospital where both qualified and unqualified staff were employed.

He claimed he did not personally handle the delivery, saying he was ill on the day the woman arrived at the facility and had asked another nurse to assist. He further alleged that the newborn, who was reportedly premature, developed complications after birth and was being transported to another hospital with an incubator when the baby died.

According to him, the baby was later buried at an Anglican cemetery, adding that he did not sell the child as alleged.

However, the baby’s mother has strongly rejected his account. Princess Oke insisted that her baby was not premature and alleged that the child was taken or sold under suspicious circumstances.

She said labour was induced shortly after she arrived at the clinic and that she later regained consciousness to find only the placenta, while her baby was missing. She also claimed she was later informed that the child had died, a claim she disputes.

Oke has called on the police to ensure her baby is recovered, maintaining that she believes the child was sold.

The police commissioner assured that Okungbowa would be charged to court, while investigations continue and efforts intensify to apprehend another suspect still at large.