Posted by By BROWN CHIMEZIE on
A day-old male child put in a carton and dumped in a refuse dump by a yet unidentified person in Ijanikin area of Lagos survived inclement weather and has been rescued.
Two kids, Moria, 11, and her sibling, Lekan, 7, in company of other kids found the abandoned baby on Wednesday, June 15 during a visit to the refuse dump to scavenge for used plastic wares.
'I heard the cry that sounded like that of a baby and I called on my sister and other kids to come and take a look," said Lekan as he explained the baby's rescue to Daily Sun.
The strange discovery prompted the kids to run into nearby Federal Second Gate community where they reported their finding to a man identified simply as Baba Ibeji who curiously followed the kids to the site.
Policemen from the Ijanikin Police Division were later invited and they promptly took the baby boy to a nearby private hospital for medical attention.
Daily Sun gathered that the sight of the baby wrapped in a red Kampala cloth and put in a carton drew sympathy and condemnation from residents of the area.
A woman, who simply gave her name as Mama Ogo, said what she saw was frightening. 'I saw a child with the umbilical cord completely covered in faeces and dirt, already weak after being beaten by the rain and the bad wealther."
Others wondered why a woman would carry pregnancy for nine months, give birth to a male child and abandon him in a refuse dump.
In a chat with the medical doctor at the hospital where the baby is receiving care, it was learnt that he was accepted for treatment on humanitarian grounds. The doctor said 'though the baby is premature, he is fast responding to medical attention."
Confirming the incident, the divisional crime officer, Ijanikin Division admitted that following a complaint by residents in the area, the police took custody of the child and took him to a private hospital for medical attention.