Residents of Badejo Kalesanwo Street,
Oduduwa Community, Mushin Local Government Area, say the Lagos State
Government took away Amudatulai and her baby on Monday, shortly after
her report was published in The PUNCH.
Amudatulai, a mentally unstable woman, gave birth to a baby girl at a rubbish dump in the area on December 25, 2013.
PUNCH Metro had exclusively
reported on Monday that the woman, a native of Ibadan, Oyo State, had
been wandering around the street for four years before she was
impregnated by an unknown man.
Amudatulai had been living on the goodwill of members of the community who showered her with gifts and money.
It was learnt that a few hours after the
report hit the news stand, the state government ordered that the new
mother and her baby be taken into custody.
Residents said officers from the state’s
Ministry of Youth, Welfare and Social Development, accompanied by
policemen, came to the area in two vehicles around 1pm.
The officials were said to have taken
the woman and her baby, as some of the residents protested and wondered
where they were being taken to.
An elder in the community, Alhaji Babatunde Shittu, also expressed concern over the safety of the duo.
He said, “People have been worried about
the condition of the baby and the mother. It is important we know as a
community how the matter is going and how both mother and child are
doing, since the community started this process.”
The Project Coordinator, Mentally
Incapacitated Rights Initiative, Oluwafemi Ayo, said his group suspected
a baby racketeering business in the state.
“We had a similar situation seven years
back, and we are trying to look into our database to be sure it is not
the same woman. We have pictures and other information that appear to
match that of this woman. That time, she gave birth and we were trying
to locate the woman and her baby, and get the baby in particular to the
SOS village, but we were told that the police had taken the baby to a
motherless baby’s home. When we went there, the child could not be
accounted for,” he said.
Ayo added that the Lagos State
Government must commit to taking adequate care of Amudatulai and child,
and not take them from the community which had been caring for them with
the intent of ending an embarrassing situation in the state only.
Meanwhile, after the report on Monday,
there was a massive response from concerned Nigerians, some of whom
expressed the desire to support the mentally ill woman and her baby.
One of them, who identified himself
simply as Prince T, in his reaction to the publication online said, “If
Lagos State government can recommend a reputable NGO that will take care
of this woman, and The PUNCH will confirm, I will pay N10,000 to
whatever account that is recommended immediately today(Monday). That is
my personal pledge to this woman. I know another overseas NGO that
could help, but they do not trust Nigerians at all.”
When our correspondent called the
Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth, Welfare and Social
Development, Dr Dolapo Badru, on his two official lines, he did not pick
his calls, despite repeated attempts.
Also, a text message seeking information
on the state of the mentally ill woman was not replied to as of the
time of filing this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment