This has got to be the saddest way to start a new month. A new born child wrapped in a black sack whose his mouths were sealed with plaster passed away on the roadside after struggling to live for six hours.
The child is reported to be given birth to by a retarded woman in the Abule Egba area of Lagos. Some eyewitnesses spoke with PUNCH about what had happened, how people abandoned the child on the roadside and did not even contact the police because they were frightened that the Police will arrest them, taking them to be suspects.
Mrs Atanda Kuforiji, a trader spoke with PUNCH, saying that they were caught off guard at the sight of the abandoned baby. She stated that one of the residents of the area called the attention of other residents to the presence of the dumped baby.
“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’s reported that these residents were afraid to help the baby from where he was dumped. Who knows? He could have been a sacrifice or something..
A driver, Mr. Lasisi Gafar, revealed that after the incident, no one had seen the retarded woman around the area.
“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.”
An eyewitness known as Iya Monsura said that:
“The child was alive as of 11am, but when government officials came around 5pm, he was dead. They took the dead body away.”