Officials from the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) removed a day-old infant from a dumpster while clearing out trash in Ikoyi, Lagos.
SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Lagos State, confirmed this on his verified Twitter account on Friday, which the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) was keeping an eye on.
According to Hundeyin, LAWMA representatives went to the Ikoyi police division on Thursday around 10 a.m. to file a report about the baby’s discovery.
The freshly born infant was discovered wrapped in a polythene bag by the officials while they were performing their normal duties of transporting rubbish around the Ikoyi area.
The Divisional Crime Officer led a police team that arrived on the spot.
Before being taken to the Motherless Baby Home, the infant was taken for immediate medical attention to Military Hospital, 81 Division, Dodan Barracks Ikoyi, he said.
The photographer of the photos said that the infant would have perished if not for the LAWMA officers’ swift discovery.
Hundeyin added that the infant was doing well and emphasized that the case inquiry had started.
He cautioned that infanticide is illegal and criminal.
According to NAN, infanticide, a felony that carries the same penalties as manslaughter of a child, is defined as when a woman intentionally causes the death of her child, who is under the age of twelve months, through any wilful act or omission. This offense is punishable in Nigeria under Section 327A of the Criminal Code Act.
