The Nasarawa State Police Command has apprehended a woman accused of abandoning her newborn baby in a bush within Akwanga Local Government Area.
According to eyewitnesses, the infant, wrapped in cloth, was discovered alive on Wednesday near a primary school along AA Koto Street in Akwanga. Concerned residents immediately notified the police.
Police spokesperson, SP Ramhan Nansel, confirmed the development on Thursday in Lafia. He said the state’s Commissioner of Police had ordered the transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for detailed investigation and prosecution.
“The baby’s mother has been identified and arrested. The Commissioner of Police has directed that the matter be moved to the SCID for a thorough probe,” Nansel stated.
Findings revealed that the suspect is a final-year student at the College of Education, Akwanga. The incident has provoked widespread outrage, with many residents condemning the act.
Cases of child abandonment have been reported in other parts of Nigeria. In July, a farmer in Kamba town, Dandi Local Government Area of Kebbi State, rescued a baby girl who had been buried alive on his farmland. The farmer, Kabiru Kamba, noticed unusual soil movement and, with the help of motorcyclists, dug up the area to find the crying baby wrapped in cloth. Security agents were informed, and the local government council placed the child in his care. Out of kindness, Kamba and his wife, who had just delivered a baby, decided to raise the rescued child and even planned her naming ceremony.
These repeated cases have heightened public concern about the growing trend of child abandonment across the country.
