Aggrieving father, Praise Mumbor, has confirmed his worst fears after a new round of medical tests revealed that his one-year-and-nine-month-old son, Jeremiah Mumbor, is HIV-positive.

The Mumbor family has accused a private health facility in Edo State—Safe Bliss Medical Centre, located opposite Oliha Primary School on Siluko Road in Benin City—of infecting their son through a contaminated blood transfusion.

According to Mr. Mumbor, neither he nor his wife, Elisa Mumbor, is HIV-positive. He explained that the child’s diagnosis only came to light after the transfusion was carried out at the clinic.

Following the initial discovery, the Edo State Ministry of Health directed the family to undergo confirmatory testing at the Military Hospital, Benin.

“At the military hospital, the results showed the same thing — my wife and I are negative, but our son is positive,” Mumbor said. “The head of the lab told me he conducted the test twice, and both times it came back positive for Jeremiah.”

He added that the lab official questioned why he hadn’t donated blood for his child. “I told him I actually volunteered to donate blood, but the clinic said the person in charge wasn’t available at the time and assured us they would provide matching blood for him.”

“So my son will have HIV forever,” the distraught father lamented.

The family is now demanding accountability as they grapple with the devastating reality of their child’s diagnosis.

Background

In an exclusive account made available to SaharaReporters on Wednesday, the aggrieved father narrated how his child—previously healthy and HIV-negative—fell critically ill on February 6, 2025. He was rushed to the hospital, where doctors claimed the boy’s blood level had dropped dangerously low.

“I offered to donate my own blood for my son, but the doctors said no one was available to test me and that the case was an emergency. They insisted on purchasing blood from a blood bank,” he said.

The father said he paid ₦40,000 for the transfusion, which was carried out immediately. The baby was discharged two days later after receiving two rounds of transfused blood.

But what was initially assumed to be a life-saving procedure soon spiralled into a nightmare.

Recurring Illness and Devastating Diagnosis

Four months later, on May 5, 2025, the boy fell sick again and was taken back to the same hospital. According to the father, the hospital again claimed the child was a “sickler” (someone with sickle cell disease) and severely anaemic, necessitating another blood transfusion.

“Just two weeks after the second transfusion, my son fell ill again. He was admitted to the same hospital where he received treatment for four to five days with no improvement,” he added.

Eventually, the hospital’s proprietor reportedly advised the family to seek advanced care at the Edo Specialist Hospital, confessing she had exhausted all options.

It was at Edo Specialist Hospital that the shocking diagnosis came: the baby had tested positive for HIV. This prompted a series of frantic follow-ups by the family, including testing at Central Hospital, which confirmed that both parents were HIV-negative.

“When the doctors at Central Hospital asked if our son had ever received a blood transfusion, we told them what happened at Safe Bliss Medical Centre. That was when the reality hit us,” the father lamented.

He continued: “When the incident occurred, I first went to the Ministry of Justice to report the case. They instructed me to inform the private hospital involved before returning to them.

“Following their advice, I went to the private hospital, accompanied by a friend who posed as a lawyer from the Ministry of Justice. This was to observe the hospital’s reaction. After our visit, I returned to the Ministry of Justice and was given a sheet of paper to write a formal letter. I wrote and submitted the letter, and they asked me to come back the following Tuesday for a meeting.

“At the scheduled Tuesday meeting, the woman who owns the private hospital was invited but refused to attend. The Ministry invited her again the following Tuesday, and once again, she did not come in person but sent a lawyer instead.

“She was invited a third time, for the following Wednesday. This time, she finally appeared, bringing a lawyer and several others to defend herself.

“After the meeting, the Ministry of Health told us to leave and did not give us a specific date or time for any follow-up. They informed us that they would carry out their own investigation to review the case.

“About two weeks later, the Ministry of Health contacted me by phone and asked me to come in privately on a Monday. I went with my uncle. They informed us that they had invited the hospital owner again, but she did not come. According to them, she said she had no case with the ministry and that if we wanted to pursue the matter, we should take it to court.

“After hearing this, I went to see my lawyer and explained everything. He advised that before taking the case to court, we should first try to arrest the woman and obtain the baby’s medical case file from the hospital.”

Police Intervention and Legal Action

“We then went to the police and made a formal report. The police requested her phone number, which I provided. They contacted her and asked her to report to the station the following Monday.

“She came as requested, but this time with more than three lawyers, the owner of the laboratory where she allegedly bought the blood, and several others. At the police station, both parties were asked to explain what had happened. I presented my side of the story first, followed by hers, and then the lab owner also gave his own account.”

The father, who is now seeking legal redress and calling for government intervention, said, “All I want is justice. My son is not even two years old, and he will live with this for the rest of his life because of one hospital’s carelessness.”

Efforts to reach Safe Bliss Medical Centre for comment were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.

Human rights activist, Comrade Glory Omonigho, who spoke with SaharaReporters called on the Edo State Ministry of Health, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), and the NBSC to immediately investigate the hospital and ensure justice is served.

“This is not just a personal tragedy — this is a public health emergency,” he said.

The activist also confirmed to SaharaReporters that the Ministry of Health has sealed the hospital for operating without a valid practising license.

Police Confirm Investigation

The Edo State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Yamu Moses Joel, when contacted by SaharaReporters, confirmed the incident, noting that an investigation has commenced into the allegation.

“The case is under investigation, sir,” he stated briefly.