Chat212 - News Hour
Our Correspondent Learnt that - Some people showed up at the Lagos State Government secretariat on Wednesday, saying they were relatives of Amudatulai, the mentally ill woman who gave birth to a baby girl at a rubbish dump.
They were said to have brought pictures and some other materials with them from Ibadan, Oyo State on Wednesday to back their claims.
Our Correspondent Learnt that - Some people showed up at the Lagos State Government secretariat on Wednesday, saying they were relatives of Amudatulai, the mentally ill woman who gave birth to a baby girl at a rubbish dump.
They were said to have brought pictures and some other materials with them from Ibadan, Oyo State on Wednesday to back their claims.
Our correspondent, however, learnt that when they were grilled, they were discovered to have no relationship with the woman.
The three people were said to have been dismissed by the state officials. PUNCH Metro had reported on Monday that Amudatulai had been wandering in Mushin area of Lagos for four years before she was impregnated by an unknown man. She gave birth on December 25, 2013.
Some members of the Oduduwa Community Association, Mushin Local Government Area, immediately took care of both mother and child, including providing them with a temporary accommodation.
However, when the report of the incident hit the news stand, the Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, took custody of the duo.
The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Government on Youth and Social Development, Dr. Dolapo Badru, confirmed to our correspondent that the mother and the child were in the custody of the state government and were receiving proper care and treatment.
He said the mother and child had been separated because they required different treatments.
He said, “The woman and her baby are in our custody and both of them are responding to treatment. The woman is undergoing treatment in one of our centres and the baby has been taken to an orphanage.
“At this point, the baby has been taken away from the woman. There are professional care workers taking care of the woman, and there are professionals taking care of the child. We will bring them together when the time is ripe. However, we can hand over the baby to true family members of the woman, which we have yet to see.”
Meanwhile, a resident of the community, Alhaji Babatunde Shittu, has expressed fear over what could become of the baby after she was separated from her mother.
Shittu said a similar incident had occurred in the area some years ago concerning another mentally ill woman.
He said, “I learnt that Amudatulai has been taken to Ikorodu, and this is my fear. The community has been trooping my house because I brought this matter to the knowledge of the press. There was a similar case in our area some years ago.
They took the mad woman and the baby away. Later, we saw the woman return to the streets, while the baby was gone. I want to be sure the woman is safe because I have my integrity to protect.”
