In a heart-wrenching incident that has sparked widespread concern, a two-month-old baby boy was discovered abandoned on Friday night in the Angwan Maina community, situated within the Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. The infant, left unclothed on the ground of a residential building behind the prison opposite Maina Government Secondary School, was stumbled upon by a compassionate middle-aged man identified as Yakub Sule, a resident of Lafia.
Sule recounted the chilling discovery to our correspondent, describing how he came across the infant around 11:30 p.m. Mistakenly interpreting the infant’s movements as those of a shaking figure, Sule soon realized the harsh reality of an abandoned newborn in dire need of assistance. Without hesitation, he scooped up the child and took him home, a decision that initially sparked a heated debate with his wife. However, in the face of the infant’s distressing cries and evident vulnerability, they quickly put their differences aside to provide much-needed comfort and care.
Speaking to our reporter, Sule’s wife, Aisha, emphasized the innate maternal instinct that drove her to immediately breastfeed the abandoned baby, underscoring the critical importance of meeting his basic needs for survival.
The gravity of the situation was not lost on Mallam Idris Muhammed, the chief of Angwan Maina ward in Lafia Council, who acknowledged Sule’s prompt reporting of the matter. Muhammed confirmed that the authorities had been notified, leading to police involvement and the implementation of necessary measures to ensure the infant’s safety and well-being.
Despite repeated attempts to reach the state’s police public relations officer, Ramhan Nansel, for official comment, our efforts were unsuccessful at the time of reporting. Nevertheless, local residents voiced their deep concerns, attributing the distressing incident to the pervasive hardships endured by many across the nation.
In a poignant plea for urgent action, residents called upon the highest echelons of authority, including President Bola Tinubu, provincial governors, and representatives in the National Assembly, to address the root causes of widespread suffering, particularly the issues of hunger and general hardship. These appeals are driven by a collective desire to avert further crises, including the looming threat of a widespread food shortage, and to safeguard the well-being of the most vulnerable members of society, including innocent infants like the one tragically abandoned in Angwan Maina.
