The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 19-year-old woman, Ayomide Adebayo, for allegedly dumping her two-month-old baby in a bush in the Ikorodu area of the state.
Adebayo, a secondary school leaver, was allegedly impregnated by one Martins Tewogbade, who lives in the Bariga area of the state, Punch reports.
She gave birth on April 30 at a private hospital in the neighbourhood.
However, Tewogbade’s parents reportedly rejected the baby and she subsequently relocated with the child to a friend’s house in Igbode, Ogun State.
Punch correspondent was told that Adebayo approached a worker at a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in the town sometime in May 2017 and begged the woman to take custody of the child.
The baby was in the care of the church worker, identified as Mrs. Joke Fatai, until Saturday, June 10, when Adebayo went to withdraw her.
She was said to have tied the baby’s mouth and nose, dumped her in the bush and returned to Bariga, telling people that the child was dead.
It was learnt that the baby was found by some members of a vigilance group in the early hours of Sunday in a bush in Ikorodu, Lagos State, and was later reunited with Fatai.
The babysitter and residents of Igode eventually traced Adebayo to Bariga.
A resident of Bariga, Yusuf Tolagbe, said an angry crowd wanted to beat up the mother, but for the intervention of a child rights organisation in the area, Child Protection Network.
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The Coordinator, Child Protection Network, Mr. Toyin Okanlawon, said the case was reported to the police at the Bariga division, adding that the mother and Tewogbade had been transferred to the Gender Unit of the Lagos State Police Command’s Headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos.
The spokesperson for the command, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, said the police would work with the state government to ensure the safe custody of the baby, while Adebayo and Tewogbola were under investigations.
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