An unidentified woman in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria’s South-east, abandoned her one-day-old infant on the roadside amidst piles of rubbish. In the early hours of Sunday, 2nd june, residents of the area were taken aback to find a newborn’s body wrapped in tattered clothes, presumably used to transport it to the site. Passers-by suspected the baby had been abandoned alive by its mother, as they heard cries throughout the night before the bag was discovered in the morning. The situation escalated when a commercial tricycle operator, unaware of the bag’s contents, narrowly avoided running over it, leading to a tense confrontation with bystanders.
According to Anambra State police spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, the authorities discovered the newborn at a dumpsite on Sunday. Superintendent Ikenga stated that the baby, wrapped in a sack, was left among the refuse on Ifite Road in the state’s capital.
Ikenga said, “Preliminary investigations revealed that the child should be a day old and was abandoned by yet unidentified woman suspected to be the mother. Meanwhile, the body has been recovered and the Police are currently working with some eyewitness information at the scene for possible arrest of the perpetrator. “To this end, the CP decries moral decay in Society and describes the act as ungodly, barbaric, and inhuman.
“He also urges parents/guardians to pay greater attention to children/wards and call on anyone with useful information that can aid the investigation to come forward to the police command headquarters in this regard.
“You can call the command control room number at 07039194332 or the PPRO at 08039334002. Confidentiality of information is guaranteed.”
