RISING CASES OF ABANDONED BABIES
Children, the most vulnerable member of the society, need all the care
Last Wednesday, a week-old baby was dumped at a refuse site behind the mini campus of the University of Abuja, in Gwagwalada. Covered with a cloth, it was the cry of the baby that attracted passersby. Two weeks earlier, another newborn baby was reportedly abandoned inside an uncompleted building in the same Gwagwalada area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In recent weeks, several such cases have also been reported in Bwari and Kuje area councils of the FCT. Worried by the trend, the FCT police command has expressed concerns over the incident of ‘baby dumping’.
While it is difficult to get the correct statistics, it is a widespread phenomenon, and cuts across the length and breadth of the country. Only recently, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) raised the alarm over the increasing rate of child abandonment in Nigeria, saying that it received 339 complaints concerning the issue in the month of February 2024. The cases were recorded across the commission’s 36 state offices and the FCT. While some of the babies are abandoned in hospitals, some are dropped off at odd hours at unconventional places such as dump sites, public toilets, roadsides, among others. The lucky ones are rescued by members of the public, while the not so lucky die before help could reach them.
The frequent occurrence and the negative implications make the dumping of babies a serious social problem that requires urgent attention. According to the register of the Child Care Unit of the Oyo State government, for instance, 114 cases of abandoned babies were recorded in Ibadan between January 2009 and December 2012. The Kogi State Government rescued 39 babies abandoned by their mothers some five years ago. And even in the FCT, a former acting secretary of the Social Development Secretariat, Mrs. Safiya Umar in 2019 decried the rate at which newborn babies were being dumped.
Meanwhile, the dumping and abandonment of children is a serious offence in Nigeria, attracting fines or imprisonment. Section 16 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 says clearly it is a criminal offence to abandon children or leave them without a means of sustenance. The Act imposes on any offender, upon conviction, an imprisonment of three years or a fine of N500,000. The Child Rights Act which has been adopted by 24 of the 36 states of the federation also stipulated that no child should be subjected to torture or inhuman treatment, an Act backed by the 1999 Constitution as altered, as it accords every individual respect and dignity. Besides, Nigeria is a signatory to the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the Child, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, all aimed at protecting the right of the child.
Unfortunately, the indiscriminate dumping of newborns, infants or others branded as ‘witches’ is on the rise. The practice runs counter to the values and culture of the Nigerian, indeed, African society where children are treasured not just by the parents but the community at large. A recent study blamed the problem largely on poverty. Due to the prevailing economic conditions many can hardly afford a decent meal a day, not to talk of an additional burden. Many of the foster homes are struggling to take care of the ones in their custody. In this wise youths must be educated more on the values of protected sex in order not to bring forth babies they can ill-afford. Children are the most vulnerable member of any society, and they deserve all the care. But the society must also be concerned by the kind of pressure that could make women abandon their babies.
