Abandoned baby found dead on Anambra church premises

A lifeless body of a baby suspected to be a day-old has been found on a church premises (name withheld) at Engr Chukelu Street, Ububa South, Nkpor Agu in the Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

No one knows whether the baby girl was dumped there dead or alive, but our correspondent gathered from the residents of the area on Wednesday that the lifeless body was found in the early hours of Monday, fuelling suspicions that it might have been dumped in the midnight of Sunday.

PUNCH Metro further gathered that the incident caused a stir within the community as people gathered to catch a glimpse of the situation.

This was corroborated by a two-minute video currently circulating on social media, showing the location where the baby was dumped and covered with dried plantain leaves with the voiceover in the video calling for whoever knew the owner of the baby to come forward and disclose the identity of the mother to the police for further investigations.

The male voice, who described himself as the Chief Security Officer of the Nkpor community, said, “I had the misfortune of going to examine a dead one-day-old girl abandoned at a church premises at Engr Chukelu Street, Ububa South, Nkpor Agu.

“Anyone who knows who may have committed this dastardly act should please come forward so we can assist police in their investigation. The incident has been reported to the Ogidi Police Division.”

When our correspondent visited the community on Wednesday, he observed a group of people, including residents of the community, gathered around the area and analysing the development.

It was gathered that the residents on sighting the abandoned baby invited the neighbourhood security watch who came and inspected the situation before inviting the police.

Speaking to our correspondent, the community’s Chief Security Officer, Chris Udeze, said efforts made by operatives to trace the mother had been unsuccessful, as no one was able to recognise or identify the baby.

Udeze said, “We were alerted to the scene of the abandoned dead baby on Monday morning and when we got there, we met the lifeless body, suspected to be that of a one-day-old baby covered with leaves.

“We suspect that the baby might have been dumped there on the midnight of Sunday, but we couldn’t ascertain if the baby was dumped dead or alive. After inspecting the situation, we quickly alerted the police officers at the Ogidi Police Division, who also came around to examine the area.

“After examining the scene, the policemen directed that the lifeless body be evacuated. The incident is still under investigation with the aid of community members, who may know the mother of the baby. People have been told to watch out for any lactating woman, this will aid in the investigation and arrest of the perpetrator of such an act.”

Another resident of the area, who gave her name simply as Nkechi, said the baby must have been abandoned by a woman who got pregnant out of wedlock.

She said, “The person must have abandoned the baby while still alive, but due to severe exposure to cold, the baby died. This is the first time we are seeing such an occurrence in the area.

“The abandoned lifeless body of the baby was found at a corner of the church premises covered with dried plantain leaves on Monday. The church premises are not fenced nor gated.”

However, when contacted on the development on Wednesday, the spokesman for the state police command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, expressed surprise, saying, “Very unfortunate. I will escalate this to the Area Commander for proper investigation and get back please.”

But a police source from the Ogidi Police Division, who craved anonymity because she was not authorised to do so, confirmed that the lifeless body was found on the premises of a church, but had been evacuated and buried. He added, “Investigations have begun and locals of the community have been told to look out for any lactating mother in the area whose baby is not with her and report to the station.”