From Beatrice GONDYI, Bauchi
A day-old baby girl has been found abandoned atop a refuse dump this morning at Gwallameji area of Bauchi state.
The baby was already dead when found and she was seen intact with the fresh umbilical cord not severed and placenta indicating that she was delivered this morning.
The unfortunate incident was discovered by a 13-year-old scavenger Idris Abubakar around 9:am, who was rummaging through the refuse dump in search of plastic bottles.
Idris Abubakar narrated that he was peering through polythene bags when he noticed the head of the baby and upon closer inspection discovered that it was a human baby.
Abubakar who spoke in Hausa said he was taken aback and informed his brother who refused to look at the baby. He prevailed on a passerby who alerted others and the authorities were informed.
“We are searching for plastic bottles and I went to carry a bottle when I saw ahead. Upon closer inspection I saw it was a human baby, I cried out and told my brother who refused to look at the baby.
“We saw a man passing, we called on him and he asked if we knew anyone around. We called someone, Baban Osama, when he came, I went and called my mother. When I saw it I was dizzy and lightheaded I had to sit down,” Idris said.
Residents of the area expressed their displeasure over the inhumane treatment and wondered why a woman will be this heartless.
The village head, Sunusi Mohammed Sani condemned the act and called on the relevant authorities to bring the culprit to book.
“Honestly I am not happy with the development. My Commander called me on the phone and informed me. What we noticed is that the perpetrators of this dastardly act are not within our area.
“It normally happens somewhere else and they will come and dump it here so that they will not be discovered. This is not the first time this is happening, the culprits hide under the impression that it is a community mostly resided by students of tertiary institutions and so will be blamed on them.
“I am calling on the authorities to investigate because it is glaring that this is done out of wedlock. The community should be responsible enough to report such cases as this is a collective effort not only for security agencies.
“If you discover a girl is pregnant out of wedlock, you should report so that necessary steps will be taken to guard against such inhumanity,” Sunusi said.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Bauchi State Command, DSP Ahmed Wakili, confirmed the incident.
He said: “Yes, it is true that an abandoned baby was found this morning at Gwallameji area and the community informed the Yelwa Divisional Police Station. Our men went there and took pictures and discovered that the baby had started decaying.
“We have launched an investigation into the matter and efforts are on to identify and arrest the culprit so that she can face the full wrath of the law.”
