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CLAIM: A viral video on social media suggests that a woman gave birth to a baby holding a miniature Quran in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
VERDICT: There is insufficient evidence to support the claim that the baby was born with a miniature Quran. Medical experts say there’s no scientific explanation for it.
Full Text
A video claiming that a woman in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, gave birth to a baby holding a miniature Quran was posted on Facebook by Ogun State Updates (a page with 62,000 followers) on Apr. 13, 2024.
As of 19 April 2024, the post had generated 68 shares, 109 comments, and 7,300 page views.
Here are some of the reactions:
Ogunkoya OA “ISLAM IS AGAINST THIS KIND OF LIES AND FABRICATIONS”
Omooba Ayoola Gbadebo: “Government needs to scrap religion totally to return our people’s brains damage if not future is very blink for this country.”
Hunzu Monday Ezekiel: “It is a trying time; people always think of how to gain traffic and personal win. Where was he born to? Let the midwife come out and tell us how it happened,”
Adebayo Emmanuel Akogun: “That woman should go and report herself in nearest police station for deceiving her husband’s family 💯✌”
The virality of the claim and the diverse reactions it has generated necessitated this fact check.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a keyword search, which showed other social media users who have shared similar videos here, here and here. In one of these videos, the baby’s mother, who mentions her name as Oladunni Ifeoluwa, is urged to call out her phone number in case anyone with questions can reach out to her.
DUBAWA contacted Ms Oladunni on Friday, Apr. 19, 2024, via the phone number she provided. She informed us that she gave birth on Apr. 11, 2024, with the help of a traditional delivery attendant known locally in the southwest as Iya-alagbo. She clarified that she did not put to bed in a hospital and that there were people present at the scene of the delivery.
However, when further asked if she has any evidence to show that the baby was born with a miniature Quran, she said ‘no,’ but people who were there can attest to it and that she is not forcing anyone to believe her.
“I am not forcing anyone to believe me, you understand? Because even when Jesus came, no one believed him, so if they want to believe, those that will believe will believe and those that will not believe will not believe. It’s left to them,” she said.
Further checks by DUBAWA showed that this is not the first time such stories were shared online.
In May 2012, a similar story was shared, claiming that a 32-year-old single mother, Kikelomo Ilori, who, after making several attempts to abort a pregnancy, ended up giving birth to a boy in a Cherubim & Seraphim Church, allegedly clutching a Holy Quran in Ejigbo, Lagos.
Again, in June 2013, another story went viral claiming that in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, a baby was allegedly born with a miniature Quran at 9, Oguntade Street, Shasha area of the state.
According to the post, the mother of the baby, Kabirat Lamidi, a 32-year-old hairstylist, said right from the conception of the baby, she had been sick. She said when the baby refused to come out after 11 months, she went for a scan where it was shown that she had an object in the womb with the baby.
DUBAWA contacted an Islamic scholar, Imam Olayinka Abdulhakeem of Saukale Islamic Centre, Dusten Alhaji Abuja, to hear his views on the claim. The Imam referred DUBAWA to a Quranic verse, noting that the event is one of the signs from Allah proving Islam to be a correct religion and a way of life.
“Alhamdulillah, all that I can say about it to you is to refer you to a verse in the holy Quran, Suratul Fussilat, second to the last verse, (Quran 41:53) which says ‘Allah will show them signs, prove and evidence in the universe and to ourselves until the truth is known to everybody.’
Therefore, according to some scholars, this can be categorised under the proof of almighty Allah to show people that Islam is the correct religion and the way of life for a baby to come to the world with a Quran.”
Further, DUBAWA spoke to a medical practitioner, Dr Yahaya Ubam, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Federal Medical Centre Keffi. Dr Yahaya said this is not possible scientifically because how would the Quran or part of the Quran find its way into the uterus of the woman?
He added that, although there have been instances in the past where women under family planning using Intrauterine Contraception such as Copper T intrauterine device (IUD) and their like give birth to babies with the contraceptive devices attached, for this claim, it is not possible.
Conclusion
Checks by DUBAWA showed no verifiable evidence to prove that the baby was born holding a miniature Quran, as claimed in the trending story.
The researcher produced this Fact-Check per the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame Kari-Kari Fellowship, in partnership with Nigeria Police Radio 99.1Fm Abuja, to facilitate the ethos of “truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.
