Residents and passersby wept as they found a newborn baby dumped in a gutter in Lagos, yesterday. The baby was said to have been abandoned at about 6.35 am, in the drainage opposite a church along Mushin Road, Surulere.
People who rushed to save the baby boy wrapped in a shawl believing he was still alive were disappointed as unfortunately he had died. The sight drew tears from people, especially women, who wept openly as they saw the baby. They described the baby as beautiful, raining curses on the mother or whoever perpetrated the evil act. Some believed the baby would not be more than 12 hours old because the navel was still fresh with blood dripping from it. The body of the baby was also fresh.
One of the eyewitnesses who identified herself as Mama Adesua told Daily Sun that if her daughter “delivers a baby and dumps it inside gutter, I will not only chop off her ear with my teeth, I will also call grown up boys to help me strip her naked and hold her so that I will bless her private part with pepper. “The mother will be the one who threw away the baby not the man. But men are usually the cause why the woman should behave that way. No matter what, she should not have done so. She is crazy.
She is a witch. An evil woman! So she did not feel the pains during labour? After suffering for nine months you decided to kill the fruit of your womb.” A man who identified himself simply as Kola said when they saw the baby they rushed to rescue it only to find that he was dead. Kola wondered why a woman would be so bold and without feeling for her newborn baby. He said the practice was becoming rampant in Surulere. He said few weeks ago they saw a baby dumped inside a canal.
“People saw pigs eating something with blood. They suspected that it could be a baby when they saw the leg. People cried openly as they noticed that what the pigs were eating was actually a baby delivered by a human being. They had to throw stone at the pigs. After chasing them away they invited officials of the local government who came to remove the remains of the baby,” Kola said. A man, Columbus Nwachukwu, advised residents to be vigilant and help the police and society to arrest the mother of the baby.
“If you know of any pregnant woman whose pregnancy is up to eight months or above and now the pregnancy is no more, please raise the alarm she could be the perpetrator of the act. We must stop this act of wickedness. If you do not want a baby why are you pregnant? Why did you deliver the baby? The mother of this baby has committed murder. If found she should be arrested and charged with murder.
Why didn’t she drop the baby at the door of a church so that the church can take care of the baby? Why gutter?” Nwachukwu asked. Efforts to reach the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, a deputy superintendent of police, on phone for comment was unsuccessful due to network failure.
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