Mother arrested for abandoning infant over financial hardship

Abdullateef Fowewe

The Police Command of the Federal Capital Territory has arrested a woman identified as Khadija Ali, for allegedly abandoning her newborn baby.

According to a statement on Sunday by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, Ali dumped the baby along a bush path near Crush Rock, behind the uncompleted Red Bricks Market in Mpape, Abuja.

Adeh stated that the baby, believed to be just a day old, was discovered at about 10am on Friday, January 3, after police operatives from the Mpape Division’s Juvenile and Women Care Section responded to a distress call.

It was gathered that the toddler, wrapped in a cloth, was rescued and taken to the Mpape Primary Health Care Centre for medical evaluation, which Adeh said following an examination, medical personnel confirmed the child was in stable condition.

Adeh wrote, “On 3 January 2025, at about 10:00 a.m., police operatives from Mpape Division’s Juvenile and Women Care Section responded to a distress call and found the baby wrapped in a cloth. The child was promptly rescued and taken to Mpape Primary Health Care Centre, where medical evaluation confirmed the baby is in stable condition.”

Adeh disclosed that acting on a tip-off from concerned residents, police apprehended Khadija Ali, who confessed to abandoning her baby.

“Following a tip-off from the community, the baby’s mother, Khadija Ali, was arrested. During interrogation, she confessed to abandoning the baby, citing her inability to care for the child following her husband’s abandonment,” Adeh added.

Condemning the incident, Adeh described it as a grave violation of the rights of the child.

She added that Ali would be charged to court for allegedly violating Sections 14 and 16 of the Child Rights Act, 2003.

“The FCT Police Command vehemently condemns this act of child abandonment and reassures the public of its commitment to protecting the most vulnerable members of society.

“The rescued baby will be handed over to the Department of Social Welfare for proper care, while the mother will face prosecution according to the provisions of Sections 14 and 16 of the Child Rights Act, 2003, upon the conclusion of investigations,” Adeh summed up.