The Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) under the Northern Regional Police Command has apprehended three individuals over the disappearance of a newborn baby from One Heart Hospital in Tamale.
Those arrested include two nurses who were on duty at the time—Abubakari Fatima Bintu and Grace Asiedu Mensah—as well as a hospital security guard, Abukari Iddi.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the baby was taken after a woman, suspected to have impersonated a nurse, entered the labour ward and informed staff that she was taking the newborn for a routine injection. She allegedly left the ward with the baby and failed to return.
Confirming the development, the Northern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Inspector Alhassan Luckman Niendow, said police have launched intensive intelligence-led operations to trace the missing infant and apprehend additional persons connected to the case. He stressed that the police are handling the matter as a priority.
Earlier, the baby’s mother, Abdul Mumin Safiyatu, recounted to JoyNews that she had briefly gone to the washroom, only to return and discover that her baby was nowhere to be found, causing alarm within the hospital.
An eyewitness also told JoyNews that a woman entered the delivery room under the pretext of conducting routine medical checks on the baby, but later vanished with the child.
The baby’s father, Bawa Sayibu, said he received a phone call around 1:15 a.m. notifying him of the successful delivery of a baby boy. According to him, he later purchased prescribed medication for the newborn in preparation for discharge and left the hospital at about 10:00 a.m.
“I was with my colleagues when my sister called me in tears and asked me to rush to the hospital,” he said. “When I arrived, I was informed that my baby had been taken.”
Mr Sayibu added that the family promptly reported the matter to the police, leading to the arrest of several suspects, including one of his wives who is employed at the hospital.
In the aftermath of the incident, angry residents from Lamashegu thronged the hospital premises, demanding answers and accountability from management.
