After her mother allegedly failed to pay a N383,500 medical bill for more than a month, a newborn is claimed to have been seized by a Unique Health Medical Center in Warri, Delta state.
The Punch states that Mrs. Akpesiri Ojiko, the mother of the twins, gave birth to the two children on November 17, 2022, at the general hospital in Warri.
Mrs. Ojiko described her struggle and made an appeal to the Delta State government and well-meaning people for help in paying the hospital bill so she could see her baby.
She said:
“I give birth to the babies on November 17 last year, a male and a female at the general hospital Warri but the hospital management told us that they did not have bed space to accommodate the babies and they cannot keep the two babies in one bed.
“They started calling some clinics to refer the baby but we refused because we know some of these clinics they mention, and we told them that they are expensive and that can’t pay their bills.
“Finally, they referred us to Unique Health Medical Center here in Warri, we don’t have any options than to go.
“The baby was to be discharged on November 27, 2022, but since we couldn’t pay the bill, the hospital seized the baby until we pay the balance the baby will not be released.
“The bill is N433,500 before my sister brought N50,000. We have paid N50,000 for my sister brought, then we will pay the balance of N383,500 for my baby to be released.
“My baby is about a month and some weeks while I have not set my eyes on the female baby for a month now, don’t even allow me to see her. Please I’m begging governor Ifeanyi Okowa and others to help me”
The father of the children, Mr. Destiny Ojiko, a Keke operator who had fled after discovering the hospital bill would cost N433,500, according to The Punch, has returned and is now pleading for assistance.
According to the hospital's doctor, the female twin cannot be handed to her mother unless the remaining sum of N383,500 is paid.