Woman Dumps Day-Old Baby By Roadside In Lagos [See Photo]

A woman, who is believed to be mentally
unstable, has dumped a new-born baby by the
roadside in the Abule Egba area of Lagos.
The woman, who was said to be dark in
complexion, was always reportedly roaming
the area which is near a filling station.
It was gathered that the baby was wrapped in
a black sack, neatly clothed and covered with a
plaster on the mouth.
Our correspondent learnt that the baby was
dumped in the area on Wednesday, January 28.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro, a trader, Mrs.
Atanda Kuforiji, said they were taken aback by
the sight of the abandoned baby.
She added that a resident of the area drew the
attention of other residents to the presence of
the baby dumped by the roadside.
She explained that everybody went to the
scene to see why the resident was shouting,
only to be confronted by the sight of the new
baby.
She said, “The baby was wrapped in a sack and
placed by the roadside. I saw a crowd gather
and decided to have a look; the child was still
alive.
“People took pictures of the baby.
“His mouth was covered with a plaster to
prevent him crying out. Everybody was saying
what came into their heads, but nobody offered
to help the baby.”
It was learnt that many of the dwellers in the
area were too scared to pick the baby from
where he was dumped.
But they said they suspected that the baby
belonged to the mentally-unstable woman.
A driver, Mr. Lasisi Gafar, said since the
incident, nobody had seen the woman in the
area.
He said, “There used to be a female lunatic
around the street who was pregnant, but since
the child had been dumped I have not seen any
trace of her.
“We suspect that she was the one that dumped
the baby here, but nobody could find her to
question her.”
He added that neither he nor most people in
the area knew when and how the baby was
dumped by the roadside.
It was gathered that the baby later died after
struggling to live for over six hours.
A trader, who identified herself simply as Iya
Monsura, said, “The child was alive as of 11am,
but when government officials came around
5pm, he was dead. They took the dead body
away.”
It was learnt that no efforts was made to
report the case of dumped baby to the police.
Some of the residents said such attempt could
put them in trouble as the police might treat
them as suspects.