The Ebonyi State Police Command, on Wednesday, said that a lady in her late 30s, allegedly killed her baby boy in the process of delivery in Abakaliki, the state capital.
According to the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Loveth Odah, the lady sustained injuries while trying to forcefully deliver herself of the baby.
She added that the woman was currently receiving treatment at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.
Odah, who said the woman allegedly wanted to deliver the baby without the aid of a doctor and outside a hospital, noted the the baby had already died before she was taken to the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki.
According to her, at the hospital, she had refused medical treatment until men of the Nigerian Police prevailed on her and the hospital management to ensure she was given proper medical attention.
Odah added that the Police had ordered that she be kept in the hospital for adequate medical attention until she fully recovers, saying, “By then, the matter will be transferred to the state Police headquarters for further investigation.
She said, “When we heard that information, I quickly rushed to the hospital, I saw a plump looking baby boy that was already dead.
“The Police have ordered she should be kept in the hospital for medical attention for now until she gets well.
“The matter is still on. When she becomes strong, she can tell us the story.
“The hospital management, through the PRO, told me that the lady refused treatment, but I pleaded with the hospital that they should continue the treatment to save her until she gets well, when the matter will be transferred to the state headquarters for further investigation.”
A source, who is close to the woman, who pleaded anonymity, said “I noticed that the baby had died.
“I called some people, who, together with me, rushed her to the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, but the gate was locked.
“We went to AE-FUTHA II, the gate was also locked. It was when we were coming out that some security men told us that we should go back to AE-FUTHA I. That was when we went to the maternity section, where she was finally attended to by the doctor.”
Meanwhile, the body of the dead baby had been deposited in the mortuary of the teaching hospital, while the mother is receiving treatment under the heavy watch of the Police.