The Idimu area police command headquarters has launched an investigation into alleged child trafficking by Tiptop Solution Hospital in Ikotun, Lagos.

A video shared on Instagram on Tuesday showed people lamenting on the premises of the hospital where a scan conducted on a then five-month-old pregnant woman confirmed she had twins in her womb, but the hospital presented to her only a baby after childbirth.

A chief superintendent of police in Ikotun, Sadikwu Afolabi, confirmed to the Peoples Gazette on Wednesday that the incident was reported at the station, but the Idimu area command had taken up the matter.

“Yesterday, somebody came to report on behalf of the wife, but apparently, the husband had gone to the area command, Area M, to report. So, they have to take over, since it’s the area command, Idimu area command headquarters,” said the officer.

The hospital’s medical director, Sunday Babajide, claimed there was an error in the pregnancy scan.

Mr Babajide said, “The scan was wrong, and she did not do another scan in another centre. It was an error; the scan said two instead of one. So, when the baby was delivered, we invited the husband to the theatre to come and witness the surgery. The husband witnessed that it was one. The woman herself was not asleep; she was awake.

“Immediately it came out, we told her, ‘Madam, we thought it was twins, but it’s one that came out’. Both the husband and the wife were aware that it was one that came out. The man even said, ‘I’m hearing only one baby crying. What’s happening?’. I said it was only one baby that came out. We thought it was two, but it’s one. But it’s a family member that now poisoned their minds to be saying things that do not exist.”

When asked about the cause of the error in the scan, the health facility’s boss said, “If the scan was done at the early stage, when it was still first trimester, that’s between four to 13 weeks, it will clearly show it. But if the scan was done at a later period, an error can occur.

“The scan was done around 20 weeks, that’s five months. So, obviously, it’s an error that played out from the scan. We told her to do the scan in another place, but she did not do the scan. The mistake we made was that we should have insisted on her doing another scan elsewhere to be doubly sure. That’s the problem.”

Mr Babajide told The Gazette he was at the police station to provide necessary information regarding the matter.