A newborn baby has been rescued after being abandoned in front of a shop along Pope John Paul Seminary School Street in Umuodu Village, Okpuno, Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The baby was discovered alive in a bag at about 9 am on Sunday by a nurse, Mercy Iloanya, whose shop is located close to where the infant was left.
Narrating the incident, Iloanya said she was opening her shop when she heard a baby crying from a nearby bag.
“I immediately called the attention of a man passing along the street, who confirmed that the baby was alive. We then alerted the owner of the shop in front of which the child was dropped,” she said.
According to Iloanya, the bag was opened in the presence of the shop owner and other residents, revealing a handwritten note allegedly from the baby’s mother. In the note, the woman appealed to the shop owner to help take care of the child.
She added that good Samaritans who gathered at the scene quickly donated baby items, while many onlookers, particularly women, expressed shock and concern over the incident.
The abandoned baby was subsequently taken to the Anambra Police B Division, where the case was formally documented.
Following police procedures, the infant was later transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of the Mother and Child Department at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Amaku, Awka.
The transfer was carried out on the directive of the Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, to ensure the baby receives proper medical attention and care.
