The Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State has decided, it will take care of a newborn baby of a mentally challenged woman found on the street at Ilu Tuntun.
While confirming the adoption of the baby, the Chairman of the Okitipupa Council Area, Mrs. Morenike Alaka, said every child has a fundamental right to life.
Alaka said, “Men should desist from putting women who are already distressed due to mental illness into the family way. It is a wicked act and a gross abuse of the victim. It is shameful. It is a sin against man and God. Every child has a fundamental right to life and we will do everything within our power to ensure that the baby lives.
The woman was found inside a bush with a baby girl some days ago. She claimed that she was delivered of twins but somebody took one of the babies away.
It was learnt that the cry of the baby drew the attention of residents, who alerted the police.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Femi Joseph, said the woman and her baby were handed over to the council chairman, who later took them to the State Specialist Hospital, Okitipupa.
The mother and child are currently in the custody of the state’s social workers.
The Director of Child Development in the Ondo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mr. Oluwaniyi Ogunleye, confirmed that the baby and the mother were receiving further medical attention.
He commended the efforts of the security agents, social and local government workers, who took care of the woman and the newborn before handing them over to the ministry.
Ogunleye said, “The child has been taken to the children’s home in Akure. She is under good care, while the mother too is being taken care of.”
Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
