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Obinna Odogwu, Abakaliki
A two-week-old baby was yesterday discovered under a staircase at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (AE-FUTHA), where it was dumped and abandoned by the mother.
The baby, Saturday Sun gathered, was wrapped and put inside a Bagco bag before being placed under a staircase at the female surgical ward of the federal hospital.
At the moment, doctors and nurses at the Neo-natal ward of the hospital are battling to save the life of the newborn said to be a baby girl. It was not clear the motive behind that ugly act, but it was suspected that the mother might be a teenager who got unwanted pregnancy and upon delivery, decided to take the step she took for reasons not yet known.
A cleric, Pastor Dan Orji, who discovered the abandoned baby, said that his attention was drawn to where the baby was kept when he heard her cry. He said that he arrived at the hospital at about 7:30am to see his wife and upon entry, heard a baby crying and struggling inside the bag but the mother was not there. He said that he raised the alarm, which attracted some of the hospital staff and security to the scene.
A source in the hospital confirmed the incident but said that the abandoned baby was not delivered from her mother in the hospital as they do not have such record; adding, however, that the baby has been admitted in the hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Loveth Odah, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, confirmed the incident. She said that investigation has commenced on the matter.
