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By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Nasarawa State Police Command has arrested a final-year student (name withheld) of the College of Education, Akwanga, for allegedly abandoning her newborn baby in a bush in Akwanga Local Government Area of the state.
The infant, wrapped in cloth, was discovered near a primary school along AA Koto Street, Akwanga, on Wednesday. Concerned residents who found the baby alive promptly alerted the police.
Confirming the incident in Lafia on Thursday, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ramhan Nansel, said the Commissioner of Police had ordered a full investigation into the matter.
“The mother of the baby has been identified and arrested. The Commissioner of Police has ordered the transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Lafia, for thorough investigation and prosecution,” Nansel stated.
The arrest has generated outrage in Akwanga, with residents expressing shock and anger over the alleged abandonment.
This disturbing case adds to a series of child abandonment incidents recently recorded across the country.
Recall that in July, a farmer in Kamba town, Dandi Local Government Area of Kebbi State, rescued a newborn baby girl who had been buried alive on his farmland. The farmer, Kabiru Kamba, said he noticed an unusual ridge on his farm and invited nearby motorcyclists to help dig. To their astonishment, they unearthed the crying infant wrapped in cloth but still alive.
Kamba immediately alerted security operatives, and the child was later placed in his custody by the Dandi Local Government Council. Out of compassion, he and his wife, who had recently given birth, took in the baby and organized her naming ceremony.
With incidents like these becoming more frequent, stakeholders are raising concerns over the rising cases of child abandonment in Nigeria, calling for urgent intervention to protect vulnerable infants.