The police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have rescued two abandoned babies following separate incidents recorded in the Kurudu and Gwagwalada areas of Abuja.
The rescues occurred after reports reached the authorities regarding infants left unattended in public spaces. The FCT Police Command confirmed the interventions, noting that the infants were recovered in distinct locations within the territory.
The babies have been taken into protective custody and are currently receiving the necessary care. Police are coordinating with social welfare agencies to ensure the children’s health and safety while investigations begin to identify the parents or guardians responsible for the abandonment.
In the Kurudu incident, the child was discovered by members of the public who immediately raised an alarm, alerting nearby security personnel. A similar sequence of events occurred in Gwagwalada, where the second infant was found and secured by the police.
The recovery of the infants comes amid ongoing concerns regarding child protection and the increasing vulnerability of newborns in urban centres. Officers at the scene ensured the children were moved to a secure environment to prevent further risk to their health.
Child welfare and legal implications
Child abandonment is a criminal offence under the Child Rights Act, which has been adopted by the FCT and several other Nigerian states. The law provides a framework for the protection of children and mandates that any person who abandons a child shall be liable to prosecution.
Social workers and child rights advocates often link such incidents to extreme poverty, lack of family support systems, and the social stigma associated with births outside of marriage. In many urban settings, including the outskirts of Abuja, these pressures can lead to desperate actions by parents.
Following the rescue of the two babies in Abuja, the standard procedure involves handing over the children to the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. This ministry is responsible for conducting medical screenings, searching for biological relatives, and arranging for foster care or adoption where biological parents cannot be found or are deemed unfit.
The FCT Police Command has urged members of the public to report any sightings of abandoned children immediately to the nearest police station or social welfare office to prevent fatalities.
Police investigators are currently reviewing available evidence and interviewing witnesses in both Kurudu and Gwagwalada to track the identities of the parents. The cases remain under investigation to determine if any one individual or group is linked to both incidents.
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