In April 2021, Mrs. Eunice Bright Ekwok was filled with joy after her antenatal scan at Divine Rain Maternity Clinic in Abuja showed she was expecting twins. However, she also worried because her husband, Bartholomew, didn’t have a stable job, and raising twins would be financially tough.
When she asked the doctor, Timothy Zeje, for a copy of her scan result, he refused. He said hospital rules did not allow patients to take their scan home. The result could only stay in her hospital file.
At home, when Mrs. Ekwok told her husband about the twin pregnancy, he asked to see the scan. She explained the doctor’s rule, and though he wanted to confront the doctor, she discouraged him. They decided to pray and accept whatever came.
During later checkups, Mrs. Ekwok often talked with the doctor about how happy she was to be expecting twins. The doctor once mentioned that his wife was also pregnant, possibly around the same time.
When the time came, Mrs. Ekwok gave birth through a cesarean section while unconscious. Only the doctor and his nurses were present in the delivery room—no family member was allowed.
When she woke up, she was surprised to receive only one baby. The doctor said the second twin had died during birth. She asked to see the body or remains but was told the baby was “scattered.” When she insisted, the doctor told her to be thankful for the one living child since she and her husband were poor.
Later, when she returned for a check-up on her surgical wound, Mrs. Ekwok asked to see her medical file. The hospital said it had been burnt, even though she saw other patient files lying around. When she asked to see where the ashes were, there was no sign anything had been burnt.
Things changed one day at a nearby general hospital, AMAC Hospital at Besan. Mrs. Ekwok had taken her baby for immunization. There, she saw the doctor’s wife arriving with a child. That baby looked exactly like hers—same hair, same face, even the same dreadlocks.
She became confused and asked the woman to remove the baby’s cap due to the heat. Once she saw the baby’s head, her confusion turned into suspicion. The resemblance was so strong that she believed this baby could be her missing twin.
Instead of making a scene, she decided to investigate quietly. She and her husband came up with a plan. She visited the doctor’s house pretending to sell clothes and returned often, hoping to find more clues about the baby.
However, this plan led to serious problems. The couple were arrested, taken to police stations, dragged to court, and accused of trying to kidnap a child. Despite all this, they kept insisting the child belonged to them and asked for a DNA test, but the police allegedly refused their request.
They’re now pleading with the public and the authorities to allow a DNA test, which they believe will prove that the child is theirs.
When a journalist contacted the doctor for comment, he refused to speak and said the matter was with the police and already in court. He directed all further inquiries to the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) said it had not officially received any complaint about the incident. A representative said they would look into it further.
A group called Think Cross River, which supports people from Cross River State, has vowed to support the Ekwoks. The group’s leader, Papa Dom Cklamz Enamhe, said they are working with the governor and state senators to ensure justice is served.
Enamhe stated that no child from Cross River will be left in the hands of strangers. He said they are ready to pay for a DNA test and go to court. He added that being poor should not stop anyone from getting justice.
“We will go through the right steps,” he said. “That child must return to the real family.”
