Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, the Governor of Kaduna State tweeted the picture of an incubator on Tuesday and claimed that the nurses at Barau Dikko Hospital had disconnected the oxygen supply of a two-day old baby the previous day.

This claim took place during the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) strike and was used to whip sentiments against the NLC. The governor further put out a claim that the baby was forcibly discharged, adding that the names of the three nurses who took the actions had been forwarded to the Ministry of Justice.

However recent findings show that the claim by the Kaduna State governor was not just false and inaccurate, it was misleading. The post was shared using the official handle of the governor of Kaduna State, and not el-Rufai’s personal account, which makes it more disturbing.

The post had over 1,000 retweets and over 1,000 likes. The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives had also put out a press statement stating that the accusation by the governor was unfounded.

“The investigations carried out by the union have revealed how the nurses on duty helped to plead with the generator plant technician to allow the light in the hospital as a patient was on oxygen and to allow for the transfer of the same patient in the morning as the strike was to start midnight of May 15, 2021. Contrary to the allegations and false statements, the nurse went extra miles to ensure the safety of the child and other patients, as it is known of nurses.”

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In contradiction of el-Rufai’s claims, a parent of the child told a national broadcaster  that the nurses attended to the baby and were not at fault. The father of the child said they insisted on taking their baby to another hospital after the nurses said the baby was stable.

“The oxygen was not in her mouth because they said she’s okay at that moment, she was stable. The nurse had even tried,” he said. “We were the ones that emphasized on taking our baby to another hospital so it’s not her fault,” the father of the child said.

FIJ learned that the baby is at Shifa Hospital at Unguwakanawa St, Ungwan Shanu, Kaduna State.