A 20-year-old woman, identified Nwaedoka Chidimma from Izzi, Ebonyi State, is being quizzed after she gave birth to a baby boy and dumped it in a pit toilet in Otuocha, Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The baby was found and alive rescued alive, nearly three days after its was dumped in the pit toilet. The baby however died Wednesday, 24 hours after it was admitted in a hospital for treatment.
Narrating how the incident happened, Esther Omesi, a farmer and a friend to the 20-year-old, said Chidimma had asked to stay at her place for few days because of a farming job she got.
Mrs Emesi said Chidimma however started acting suspiciously on Sunday after complaining of having stomach upset and went to the pit to ease herself.
According to Omesi, Chidimma took time before she came out of the toilet. “She was dripping of blood which made me to call a nurse that inspected her and revealed that the baby is gone.
“I thought she had a still birth which was why I encouraged her to travel home to her parents and notify them of the development.”
Mrs Omesi revealed that two days after Chidimma had travelled to her parents, they heard a baby’s cry on Tuesday morning. They quickly used a ladder to rescue the new born who was dumped on Sunday after which they notified the relevant authority.
When the attention of the Anambra State Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare Ify Obinabo was called to the incident, she quickly intervened by taking the new born to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital Amaku Awka for treatment, while the culprit was arrested.
While reacting to the news of the baby’s death, women affairs commissioner appreciated the efforts of the doctors to treat the baby. praying God to receive the soul of the baby.
Obinabo went on to advise young adult females to always go to their state government’s women affairs ministry if they get pregnant and don’t want to keep the baby.
She explained that every state ministry of women affairs is saddled with the responsibility of providing shelter for anyone who wishes not to have her child after birth.
On the fate of the 20-year-old who committed the crime, Obinabo said the law will take its full course saying that she’s already in police custody.
She further noted that the governor of Anambra state, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo has zero tolerance for such inhumane and dastardly act and assured of seeing to the end of the case.
