Akpesiri Ojiko, a 36-year-old mother of three whose twin baby was detained for over one month by a private clinic in Warri, Delta State, over an outstanding bill of N383,500, wasrecently reunited with her baby five weeks after she was detained by the management of a private clinic in the state.

She narrated her ordeal which she described as traumatic, adding that. "I am 36 years old. I have three children – a daughter and a set of twins. I am not legally married to the father of my children. I am a petty trader. I had my twins at the General Hospital, Warri, on November 17 (2022). I had them through the natural way (not by Caesarean section).

"After the delivery, the babies were taken to the topmost floor where children were cared for. I was in the labour room and did not know what was happening. When my sister came to the hospital, the management told her at about 1am to move one of the twins to a private hospital. They said they could not admit two children on one bed, that they were short of beds and that the one available was for emergencies.

"My sister told them that we did not know any private hospital where the baby could be taken to, so we told them to help us take care of the baby.

"They listed about four private hospitals and provided the contact numbers but my sister said the services of the hospitals would be too expensive for us. However, they referred us to a clinic, Unique Healthcare, and contacted operators before we got there. They also assured us that the services of the private clinic were not expensive

"I was not happy about it. At one point, the doctor said he would take my baby to an orphanage if I didn’t pay the money," she stated.(Story adapted from The PUNCH)