ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
A newborn baby boy has been found dead at a refuse dump in front of a primary school in Okaka community, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Residents rationalised that the baby boy might have been abandoned by his mother due to lack of money to cater to the needs of neonate.
It was learnt that some residents who went early in the morning on Saturday to throw refuse at the dump saw the little baby wrapped in an a local fabric (Ankara), and was crying helplessly.
It was also learnt that the first person that saw the child raised the alarm which attracted a crowd from the neighbourhood.
It was equally learnt that no help could come as the innocent child was already dying from the cold and the rain of the previous night.
The child was said to have been confirmed dead later when he stopped crying.
Men of the Bayelsa State Environmental Sanitation Authority (BESA) who were monitoring the monthly sanitation exercise in the state visited the scene of the incident.
They were said to have condemned such an ungodly act.
Director, BESA, Comrade Ebitto Alazigha, who led the monitoring team, urged residents to always monitor their neighbours on what they take to the dumps.
He said that the authority would put measures in place to check such a menace in the future.
Chairperson of the Bayelsa State Gender Response Team (GRT) and Founder, DO Foundation, Dise Ogbise, blamed the ugly development on poverty and promiscuity among young girls.
The lawyer urged young women who had difficulties in taking care of their babies to contact her office rather than killing innocent lives.
Describing the act as illegal, she warned that if the perpetrators were caught, they would be arrested for murder, prosecuted and jailed.
A resident of the area, who gave her name as Ebimoere, said: “It’s unfortunate that innocent children are being wasted in Bayelsa State because, most of the parents of these unfortunate children are not ready for child birth but go into relationships to get immediate material needs.
“This development is highly commendable. Children are blessing to every family, they should not be killed because of poverty mentality. Government should take action to forestall future occurrence.”
Police spokesman in Bayelsa State, SP Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident.
He said the command had already contacted the sanitation authority to evacuate the corpse of the child and that investigation was ongoing.