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Police have apprehended a matron at a private hospital on Shibiri Road, Ajangbadi, Lagos State, Mrs. Victoria Ukwu, for allegedly being in connection with a mutilated body of a one-year-old twin, Favour Orogbu.
The right cheek of the victim was reportedly sliced off by a yet-to-be-identified person after she died at the facility last Friday night.
The matron, however, claimed that it was a rodent that inflicted the cut.
Favour and her twin sister, Esther, were rushed and admitted to the hospital on Tuesday, August 28, by their mother after they started vomiting.
While Esther was recuperating, Favour’s condition was reportedly deteriorating. She gave up the ghost three days later.
The deceased’s mother, Amaka, said she and her sister-in-law wanted to remove the corpse around 7 am on Saturday when the shocking discovery was made.
“Last week Tuesday, around 10 am, my twins were vomiting continually and I took them to Navico Clinic and Maternity. I paid N1,500 for the card before the matron attended to them. She asked me when the ailment started and I said about two days ago. She said their medical bill was 10,000 and I deposited N4,000. They were given drips.
“Esther was recuperating, but Favour’s condition did not improve. I met with the matron and she assured me that she would be okay. On Wednesday morning, her condition worsened. I complained again to the matron and she gave her an injection.”
Amaka explained that the matron asked a nurse to administer sleeping pills on Favour on Wednesday evening which made her sleep up until Friday.
“I left to get the N6,000 balance that Friday evening. When I came back, she was still sleeping and taking another drip. In the night, she started breathing heavily. I rushed to call a nurse to attend to her. She took her to the matron’s office.
“The matron came to meet me outside and enjoined me to be calm. After a while, she came out again and told me that my daughter was dead. She asked me to make arrangements to remove her corpse immediately. I told her that my husband was not around and that I could not handle the situation alone.
“I called my sister-in-law to come to the hospital. I was somewhere at the hospital throughout that night. Around 5 am, the doctor came to me again to ask about how I wanted to remove the corpse. Around 7 am, my sister-in-law, came and went to the ward where Favour was. She saw bloodstains all over the bed sheet that was used to cover the baby. She came back to ask me what was wrong.”
“The matron brought her corpse out of the ward. On close observation, it was discovered that her face had been sliced off. She said it was a rat that chopped off her face. I went to report to the police at the Ajangbadi Police Division.
“The two nurses that were on duty that day and the matron were arrested. The nurses initially ran away, but they have been arrested,” she added.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti, who confirmed the incident, stated that the suspects had been arrested and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba, for further investigation.