Olayomi Koiki
Police in Nigeria’s capital Abuja have arrested a woman for allegedly abandoning her newborn baby.
Khadija Ali was arrested for dumping the baby along a bush path near Crush Rock, behind the uncompleted Red Bricks Market in Mpape, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command said.
The baby, believed to be just a day old, was discovered at about 10am on January 3, 2025 after police operatives from the Mpape Division’s Juvenile and Women Care Section responded to a distress call, police spokeswoman Josephine Adeh said in a statement.
“On 3 January 2025, at about 10:00 a.m., police operatives from Mpape Division’s Juvenile and Women Care Section responded to a distress call and found the baby wrapped in a cloth. The child was promptly rescued and taken to Mpape Primary Health Care Centre, where medical evaluation confirmed the baby is in stable condition.
“Following a tip-off from the community, the baby’s mother, Khadija Ali, was arrested. During interrogation, she confessed to abandoning the baby, citing her inability to care for the child following her husband’s abandonment,” Adeh said.
The police spokeswoman described the incident as a grave violation of the rights of the child.
“The FCT Police Command vehemently condemns this act of child abandonment and reassures the public of its commitment to protecting the most vulnerable members of society.
“The rescued baby will be handed over to the Department of Social Welfare for proper care, while the mother will face prosecution according to the provisions of Sections 14 and 16 of the Child Rights Act, 2003, upon the conclusion of investigations,” the statement added.
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