Metro
Abia: Two-year old girl rescued after being locked up in uncompleted building for days
A two-year-old girl locked up in an uncompleted building at Zone 5, Agbama Housing Estate Umuahia for several days has been rescued by officials of the Gender-Based Violence Response Team of Vicar Hope Foundation.
The baby, whose name could not be ascertained as of the time of rescue, looked exhausted, dehydrated and malnourished, perhaps having gone several days without food or water.
According to the Programme Manager, Vicar Hope Foundation, Mr Raymond Ukwa, the organisation received a call on Saturday, April 25, 2020, from landlords in the area that a child had been locked up in an uncompleted building.
Ukwa said working in line with well-established protocols on intervention, the foundation reported the incident to the Umuahia Area Commander of the Nigeria Police Force, Mr Ekeinde Odion, who detailed officers to break into the building so that the child could be rescued.
READ ALSO: Petrol tanker falls, spills content on Lagos road
“As a foundation, we believe in creating a safe environment for our children; a lot of deaths of children every year occur because of negligence and preventable diseases; it’s our duty to ensure that we reduce these numbers and protect the right to life of every child,” he stated.
Neighbours, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the child’s parents were in the habit of locking him up for days without food or water, adding that they sometimes pass food through a crack in the wall of the building to him.
The Assistant Secretary, Board of Trustees of the foundation, Mr Chika Ojiegbe, said the child was examined by medical personnel and taken to a safe dwelling, while relevant authorities had commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his abandonment in the uncompleted building.
The state Commissioner for the Nigerian Girls’ Guild Association, Mrs Queen Nwarie, commended the founder of the Vicar Hope Foundation and wife of the state governor, Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu, for rescuing the child.
Nwarie, said the quick response of the foundation made the difference between life and death for the toddler.
-
News19 hours ago
African countries frustrate Air Peace with high charges – Onyema
-
News16 hours ago
EFCC boss to pay 17-year-old hacker’s school fees
-
Metro20 hours ago
Fuel queues: Lagos laments traffic jams, threatens unorganized petrol stations
-
News16 hours ago
Peter Obi replies Umahi, denies inciting southeast against FG
-
News15 hours ago
Nigerians face ‘anointing oil’ price hike amid Olive oil scarcity
-
News21 hours ago
2024 UTME results not available on website yet – JAMB
-
News20 hours ago
Obi blames bad road, insecurity as 35 die in Kogi, Enugu
-
News20 hours ago
Zamfara govt under fire for paying teachers ‘meager’ N8,000 salary