The lifeless body of a one-day-old baby wrapped in umbilical cord and placenta was found Thursday in a landfill in the Gwallameji area of the Bauchi metropolis.
A 14-year-old boy who discovered the body said he was scavenging through plastic waste and was about to pick up a piece of plastic when he saw the baby.
"I immediately called my brother to check, but he refused and ran away," the boy said. "We saw a man walking, which we told him to do, and he looked at him. I went and called our neighbors and my mother, who came to see what I had told them.
Commenting on the incident, community leader Sarkin Gwallameji, Sanusi Sani said he was called to the incident by his commander whose house is near the place where the baby was found.
"Frankly, I was very sad about what I heard and what I saw. Something similar happened a few years ago when we found a newborn baby in a well with water," Sani said.
"You must know that this is a burden for everyone, not just for the executives, they must inform every pregnant woman that they know she is not married so that we can prevent such a recurrence.
The community leader said he had informed the Yelwa Division police headquarters about the incident and that they had also sent some of their men there.
He said that the community had begun to investigate the matter. "We have informed all our commanders in the area, including the Rafin Zurfi area, to see if they can find out if a lady was pregnant and that she is no longer pregnant and cannot account for the baby's whereabouts.
Gwallamaji is the host community of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, and the community head was of the opinion: "Even if the Polytechnic does not meet and there are no students present, this would not prevent us from carrying out our investigations and the investigation in the surrounding homes to see if we find the culprit.
Meanwhile, police spokesman Ahmed Wakili of the Bauchi State Command, DSP, confirmed the incident and said that the investigation had begun.
He said: "Yes, it is true that an abandoned baby was found this morning in the Gwallameji area and the community informed the Yelwa Division police department. Our men went there, took pictures and discovered that the baby had started to decompose.
"We have launched an investigation into this matter and are doing everything possible to identify and arrest the perpetrator so that he can face the full wrath of the law.
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