By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
THREE health workers from a Comprehensive Health Center in Emure Ile, Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State are in hot soup over a missing newborn baby’s placenta.
The already arrested three suspects – a nurse, a health assistant, and a security officer at the health centre – were accused of having conspired to steal the placenta, but claiming that it was eaten by a dog that strayed into the premises.
Stonix News gathered that the family of the newborn raised the alarm when the health officials refused to hand over the placenta to the father or grandmother after five days after delivery.
Tunde Ijanusi, the 23-year-old father of the baby, explained that the health workers involved in the delivery conspired to steal the placenta.
His 19-year-old wife, Joy Ijanusi, expressed concern over the failure of the hospital workers to provide them with the placenta, leading them to report the incident to the police.
Ijanusi stated, “The health workers have been blaming each other for the whereabouts of the placenta, and when they failed to produce it after five days, we decided to report the matter to the police.”
He added that the officials claimed a dog had entered the private room and eaten the placenta, urging them to drop the matter.
However, he emphasized that they could not let go of the placenta, and the officials did not seem serious in explaining how it went missing in the hospital.
Stonix News reports that in Yoruba tradition, it is a taboo not to produce the placenta of a newborn baby after birth.
Officials of the health centre were not forthcoming in speaking with journalists on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Funmi Odunlami, who confirmed the arrest of the three suspects, assured that an investigation into the matter had commenced and that the police would uncover the truth behind the missing placenta.
