Stories by Ahmed Ajikobi
A pepper seller, Rebecca John has been arrested for dumping a new born baby by the Alagbede river bank, Offa Garage area, Ilorin, Kwara State, last Thursday.
Pilot Crime gathered that the woman, who resides at Onilegboro area of Offa Garage area perpetrated the act shortly after delivery of the baby by her daughter, Ayo.
According to a police source, Ayo delivered the baby on a mountain top where she had gone for prayers and subsequently put the child in a sack and dumped it at the Alagbede market, where her mother sells pepper.
“When the girl got home she told her mother about the baby. The mother then went to the market to pick the sack that contained the baby and dumped it by the river bank.
“The woman was sighted by some people who insisted that she should open the sack and a baby was discovered in it. They raised the alarm that attracted a crowd to the scene. The angry mob wanted to lynch her.
“She pleaded with the crowd and explained that it was poverty that drove her to take such action. The people yielded to her plea and took her to the police station, where she was detained,” the source added.
The source said that during interrogation the trader explained that her daughter was impregnated by a man in March 2018, who promised to marry her, but few months later, the would-be father died.
“Unfortunately, the man did not introduce the girl to his family members before his death. So, when he died the family did not accept the pregnancy.
“The mother who said they were living from hand to mouth, also stated that her daughter decided to throw the baby away but she felt it would be better to place the child where a good Samaritan can locate and rescue him.
Efforts to contact the state Police Spokesperson, DSP Ajayi Okasanmi on the matter proved abortive as calls to his mobile phone were not picked and text messages not responded to at the time of filing this report.
