A baby girl, neatly dressed was found dead and abandoned in a biscuit carton at Ikot Ekpene road in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.
The unidentified baby girl became pale after she had cried for a long time without getting any attention.
One of the witnesses in the village said that the mother might have abandoned the baby due to hardship and the inability to fend for her or maybe she considered her daughter a witch.
He said, “There are lot of children being thrown away like this in recent times because the mothers think they’re witches or plagued by demon spirits or maybe for lack of what feed the children,” the witness said.
Mr. Okon Isaac, who was on his way to a fuel station along Ikot Ekpene Road, said he heard the cry of a baby near the refuse bin.
“I have been here since 5:47 am. I wanted to buy fuel from Total, which only sells the product when available between the hours of 4 and 6:20am. After this time, they stop selling pretending not to have the product. As I was passing, I heard the cry of the baby. I began to wonder where the baby was crying from, but when I got close to the refuse bin, just off the road, I saw a baby girl neatly dressed and dumped in a biscuit carton,” said Mr Okon.
“I could not go to Total in search of fuel again. I stayed behind to observe if the mother of the baby might change her mind and come back for the baby. And before long, people started to troop in as they heard the cry of the baby. As we live in a period of child theft and selling of children for money, people were scared to touch the baby. They all stood helpless, should anyone risk lifting the baby, and the police happen to be around, the individual can be accused of child theft, or whatever,” he added.
The villagers, who were amazed at the act of the mother, condemned her heartless and watched helplessly as the baby was been taken away.
The police are said to have confirmed the incident to the ministry and reached out to the Ministry of Environment for the necessary action.
Recently, several cases have occurred about women dumping their babies, while some sold theirs to childless couples because of their inability to meet up with the daily needs.