Mrs. Ayebaekipreye Ebinyefa, the mother of the conjoined twins separated after a four-hour surgery carried out January 2 at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, Adamawa State, said the successful separation of the conjoined twins has saved her from being the object of public mockery whereby she would have been tagged a witch by her people in Nembe area of Bayelsa State.

The excited mother spoke after she arrived at the Bayelsa International Airport in the company of Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Chief of Medical Services (CMS), Air Commodore Gideon Bako; her husband, the separated twins, and their medical team onboard a NAF Beechcraft KingAir 350i aircraft.

Ebinyefa disclosed that the successful surgery and survival of her twins have saved her from ridicule and wickedness of being called a witch, as she said “I am happy about the success of the operation. As you can see the twins are kicking and happy.”

She mentioned that during the surgery process, she was pretty scared as she silently prayed for its success. She explained thus:

“Before we went for the surgery in Yola, I received insults and was tagged a witch. Some said the children came out conjoined because of my stubbornness and witchcraft. READ ALSO: Should getting a divorce make you this happy?

“While the surgery was going on, I prayed fervently because I cannot receive such wicked names and lose the children. I handed over the operation to God and it saved me the evil blushes among my people.

“I have faith in God and told him to take control. I want to appreciate our benefactor, Gabriel Jonah. He was the God-sent used to save me from death. Because without his intervention during the birth of the babies, we would have been killed.

“He took us from Nembe to Yenagoa and eventually connected everyone involved with this success. In the last eight months, he has fed us and taken care of us up till this moment.”

Reacting to the drama at the Bayelsa Airport, where the state Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, showed up with a crowd of government officials to receive them, the father of the separated twins, Ayebaikemi Ralph, said he was astonished at the action of the state government officials because they didn’t support his family in the process of the twin separation. He said, “I was shocked and surprised when I saw them at the airport to receive us.”  

He further disclosed that the welfare of his family and that of his separated twins was rather sponsored by a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state, Chief Gabriel Jonah. In his words: “After the birth of the conjoined twins on December 12, 2019, no one came to our rescue not even the state government. But Chief Jonah intervened and was ready to sponsor our medical trip abroad but the FMC Adamawa intervened and did a good job.

“We want to apologise to Chief Jonah over the open display by the state deputy governor and his team. My family and I would never forget all that Chief Jonah did for the survival of my twins. He saved us as a family.”