Photos: Newborn baby dumped in Lagos gutter
A rights activist, Declan Ihekaire, said he found the crying baby wrapped in a sack inside the dirty water at 5:30 a.m.
Ihekaire, a resident of the area, said he quickly called the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Elere Police Station, Mrs. Regina, and the Lagos State emergency response number 112.
He told The Nation that it was the DPO that rushed to the scene and facilitated the baby’s transfer to the Orile Agege General Hospital.
Ihekaire said: “Around 5:30 a.m., a security man on my street banged on my gate. I came out and asked him what the matter was. He explained that there was the cry of a baby from the gutter outside. I followed him there and found out that it was actually a baby. I cordoned off the place and called the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Elere Police Station, Agege, Mrs. Regina.
“I need to show appreciation to the DPO of Elere. She’s a strong woman. Despite the fact that it was very early in the morning she still picked my call and responded swiftly.”
He commended officials of the Orile Agege General Hospital for their care of the baby and described the hospital’s welfare department as consisting of “true professionals.”
Ihekaire, however, berated another hospital close to where the baby was found, for failing to provide the child with first aid.
He added: “I also want to register my displeasure with a hospital very close to the scene. I sent emissaries there who beckoned on the nurses on duty to give the baby first aid after we removed her from the gutter, but they refused to come. They said the hospital is a private one.”
He called for the arrest and prosecution of the baby’s parents.
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