The District Court of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) in Accra has remanded Latifa Salifu in connection with the theft of a four-day-old baby boy from the postnatal ward of Mamprobi Polyclinic in Accra.
Latifa Salifu, a mother of two, has been charged with one count of child stealing before the court presided over by K. K. Obiri Yeboah.
She pleaded not guilty to the charge when she made her first appearance at the specialised court.
The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Opoku Aniagyei, told the court that investigations were still ongoing and prayed for the accused to be remanded in custody.
“We want the accused to be remanded to allow us to complete our investigations,” he said.
However, counsel for the accused, Hamisu Muhammad, pleaded with the court to grant his client bail, arguing that Salifu was not a flight risk and had never had a brush with the law.
“My client will not interfere with police investigations and witnesses because she does not have resources to interfere and does not have the resources to abscond,” counsel submitted.
He added that his client had men who were ready to stand in as sureties.
The prosecution opposed the bail application, indicating that police suspected the alleged theft may have been orchestrated by a syndicate.
“There is no sense that the accused, who has children who are boys, will still go to the hospital to steal a boy.
“We want the accused remanded to help with investigations,” the prosecutor said.
The judge sided with the prosecution and remanded the accused to reappear on March 4, 2026.
According to police, at around 10 a.m. on February 17, Abigail Dzikunu, accompanied by Henrita Abe Blessed, reported “that an unidentified woman, disguised as a nurse, had stolen a newborn from the hospital’s postnatal ward.”
The baby’s mother, Precious Ankomah, who delivered her son on February 14, 2026, told police that “a woman dressed in a nurse’s peach-coloured uniform took the baby under the pretext of administering medication and disappeared.”
The suspect claimed she had delivered at the hospital and was discharged due to a lack of care; however, police investigations found no records to support her claim.
The case has reignited public concern about security at health facilities, particularly maternity wards, with calls for tighter visitor screening and surveillance systems to prevent similar incidents.
