Officials of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) found a day-old baby from a dumpster while evacuating waste in the street in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria.
On Friday, Benjamin Hundeyin, The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Lagos State, confirmed this on his official Twitter handle.
The Public Relations officer, Hundeyin, said that at about 10:00 AM on Thursday, the officials of the LAWMA went to the Ikoyi Police Division to file a report after discovering the baby.
According to the officials, they were on their routine duty of moving wastes around the Ikoyi area. At this time, the officials discovered the newborn baby wrapped in a plastic polythene bag.
“A team of Lagos state police officers led by the Divisional Crime Officer rushed to the scene.
“The police quickly took the baby to Military Hospital, 81 Division, Dodan Barracks Ikoyi for medical treatment before taking the child to Motherless Baby Home,” he said.
The spokesperson said that the baby would have died if the LAWMA officials had not found the child as quickly as they did.
Further, the Police Public Relations officer, Hundeyin, informed the media of Nigeria that the baby was doing fine. He also stressed the fact that an investigation into the case had begun.
” Infanticide is a crime and punishable by law,” he warned.
According to Section 327A of the Criminal Code Act, If a woman of Nigeria, by means of any wilful act or omission, causes the child’s death, provided that the child’s age is under 12 months (the child is below one year of age) it amounts to murder.
In such a situation, the child’s mother is guilty of a felony.
To willfully think of infanticide and the thought of acting upon the impulse of acting on such offence be dealt with and punished as if she is found guilty of the manslaughter of the child.
