A video circulating on Instagram shows a woman who was reportedly caught trying to steal a baby from a hospital after pretending to be pregnant with cloth stuffed under her wears.

The footage was shared by the page @diaryofamarketgirl, which says the woman was one of two people involved in the attempt and that the other escaped. In the clip, a woman in a light top and pink shorts sits on a chair in what appears to be a hospital or an office, covering her head with a cloth, while a man in a printed traditional outfit stands beside her.

Pieces of cloth and a white item are visible near her feet. The post claims she faked a pregnancy by tucking cloth around her stomach, and that she was later taken away by the police.

The post did not name the hospital, the location or the date of the incident, and it did not identify the woman or her alleged accomplice. No police statement or report on the case had been published at the time of writing. The claims therefore remain unverified allegations, and the woman has not been tried or convicted of any offence.

The video drew heavy reaction online, with one viewer asking why she was still wearing the cloth, in a thread of more than 50 replies.

Cases of this kind have been reported in Nigeria in recent months. In early October, an Ekiti State High Court sentenced a woman to 14 years in prison in absentia for stealing a newborn from a hospital in Ado-Ekiti. Prosecutors told the court she had wrapped clothes around her stomach to mimic pregnancy, to hide a lost pregnancy from her husband abroad, and that a midwife who noticed inconsistencies in her story alerted the police.

In August, police in Benue State arrested several suspects over the theft of a newborn from a hospital in Gboko by a woman posing as a nurse, and recovered the baby. Around the same time, police in Kebbi State arrested a 19-year-old woman accused of faking a nine-month pregnancy before stealing a newborn to present to her husband as her own.

Security experts and hospital administrators have repeatedly urged maternity facilities to tighten access to wards, verify staff and visitors, and keep newborns under close watch. They have also advised mothers and relatives not to hand over babies to unfamiliar persons, even those who claim to be nurses.

Note: I could not find any police statement or news report on this particular video. The hospital, the city and the date are not stated in the post, so I kept the wording as “reportedly” and did not describe the woman beyond what the clip shows. You may want to confirm the location and the police position before publishing.