Caep Town – The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has reported that a dead baby, whose gender was unknown, was found in the streets of Lagos, partly wrapped with flannel and surrounded by dirt.
According to a passer-by, who pleaded anonymity, the baby must have been dumped in the night, local media reported.
The newborn is understood to have died of cold because the flannel which the mother used to wrap him/her got removed, exposing the baby to cold. She must have dumped the baby alive, a local passer-by said, citing The Guardian Nigeria.
Baby dumping in Nigeria is not a new occurrence.
According to local Nigerian media, last week an unidentified woman dropped a four to five month-old baby on the road and left a note for anyone willing to adopt the child.
The woman allegedly dumped her baby girl in a nearby bush with a note saying she is tired of life and that she can’t take it anymore because she comes from a poor background, according to Baringo Online.
“I have reached a point where I have to abandon my daughter. I have not received any support from the father or family. I am a poor person and I hope a good Samaritan will adopt her. Her name is Purity. God bless you,” the mother of the abandoned baby wrote.
The corpse of a day-old baby was abandoned beside Ayinke house, Ikeja, Lagos in March 2021.
This occurred barely six days after another day-old abandoned baby was rescued by policemen at Oladejo Street, Oko Oba area of Lagos, Vanguard News reported.
Baby dumping is one of the most common forms of child abuse in Nigeria.
Although this practice is not new, its current frequent occurrence and the negative implications it has on the babies concerned, however, makes it a serious social problem that requires urgent attention.
IOL