Joy Anyim
The Police in Ogun State has rescued a day-old baby, who was thrown into a soak-away pit by the mother, a 30-year-old woman, Risikat Olabintan.
The incident which allegedly happened on November 17, 2019, was brought to the notice of the police following a distress call by members of the Ibukun Oluwapo Community, Ishaga Surulere area, in Owode-Yewa.
Making a confessional statement, Olabintan said the child which is her sixth child, was thrown away because she did not have the financial muscle to take care of the child since her husband had abandoned her.
The baby was however found, when children who were playing in the backyard of a compound in the area, heard the crying of a baby in the soak-away and raised alarm.
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Speaking on the arrest of the suspect, the Ogun Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said on receiving the information, the Divisional Police Officer, Owode-Yewa Police Division, Olabisi Elebute, a Superintendent of Police, quickly led team of policemen to the scene where the baby was rescued with the assistance of members of the public.
“Investigation later revealed that Olabintan who gave birth secretly to the baby and threw him inside the soak-away as early as 5 a.m. of that day, hence she was apprehended.
“On interrogation, she made a confessional statement that she actually gave birth to the baby which is the sixth of her children and that she has no means of feeding them all since her husband has absconded to an unknown destination for quite some time now. Both the baby and the mother are presently in the hospital for medical attention and the baby is responding positively to treatment.”
He noted that the State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, has directed that the case be transferred to Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Labour Unit of the State Investigation and Intelligence Department, for proper investigation.
