A salesgirl, Ifunanya Eme, has been arrested by the police in the Ajangbadi area of Lagos State, for allegedly dumping her day-old baby girl by the roadside.
Eme, who hails from Enugu State, was arrested on Tuesday by policemen at the Ilemba Hausa division, after residents of Solimo Street raised the alarm.
Eme, who was brought to the Lagos State Police Command headquarters, Ikeja, on Thursday said that she dumped her day-old baby because her lover abandoned her, adding that she had no means of taking care of the child according to reports from Punch metro.
Eme 31-year-old, met her lover identified only as John, who worked as a contract worker with a company in the area, in March 2015. Eme, who lived with her elder sister in Ajangbadi, informed John early 2016 that she was pregnant. But John rather than take responsibility of the pregnancy ended the relationship, fled the area and allegedly switched off his mobile phone. Eme was later delivered of the baby girl on Monday in her house and wrapped her in a polythene bag. She allegedly sneaked out of the house and went out to dump the polythene bag by the roadside around 1am on Tuesday.
Residents were said to have woken up to the sight of the baby, after which the police were alerted and the baby was traced to Eme. She was subsequently arrested.The baby was rescued and is currently receiving medical attention. According to reports from Punch Metro Eme said:
“I am not married. I work as a salesgirl at a supermarket at Church bus stop in Ajangbadi. I met John last year and we started dating.
“When I discovered that I was pregnant early this year, I called John and he said he was travelling and he was not prepared to take care of any child. Since then, he had not come to see me, and his mobile phone number had been switched off.
“I was delivered of the baby at home on Monday because I could not afford hospital bill. I am an orphan. So, when John left me, I did not have parents that I could give the baby to. I therefore decided to dump her by the roadside where kind-hearted people could pick her up.”
Image credit:Celebnest