A 20-year-old woman, Nwaedoka Chidimma, hailing from Izzi community in Ebonyi State, reportedly disposed of her newborn baby in a pit toilet in Otuocha community, Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State. Chidimma was on a farming job in the area when the incident occurred on Sunday. The baby was eventually rescued from the pit toilet on Tuesday after residents heard its cries. A local resident named Esther shared that Chidimma, who had been pregnant, had secured the farm job and returned from the toilet bleeding. Esther also mentioned that Chidimma had asked to stay at her residence for a few days to complete her farming task in the area.
She said, “Chidimma is my friend, she begged me to stay at my place for few days because of a farming job she got. She was working on the farm when she suddenly started acting funny after she complained of stomach upset and went to the pit toilet to ease herself.
“After spending time in the toilet, she came out with drops of blood. I thought she had a still birth and I quickly invited a nurse who after examining her, disclosed that the baby was gone.
“I encouraged her to travel back home to her parents and notify them of the development because I thought she had a stillbirth.
“It was on Tuesday when we started hearing a baby’s cry that we quickly used a ladder to climb down the pit and rescued the new born baby and immediately alerted security agencies and the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare.”
The Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, who reacted to the development, quickly intervened by taking the newborn to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, Amaku Awka for treatment, and the culprit was subsequently arrested.
Obinabo disclosed that the baby is stable and currently receiving treatment at the hospital while confirming the arrest of the suspect
She decried the high rate at which young girls commit crimes, stating that the young mother won’t go unpunished. She further noted that the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has zero tolerance for such acts.
