There was pandemonium at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt as a premature baby was found dead in front of a female hostel at the campus.
PUNCH Metro learnt on Monday that the male child who was covered with a cloth was said to have been dropped by an unknown person last Saturday morning.
Some students who spoke to our correspondent on the incident said the baby who was between six and seven months old was dumped at the Rumulumeni campus of the university in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
Our correspondent could not confirm if the mother of the dead child is a student following the discovery of the child in a hole early that morning.
One of the students who preferred anonymity said, “I woke up in the morning and started hearing noise everywhere. I rushed out only for me to see people gathering and looking further, I saw a forming baby of about six months inside a hole with blood all over the placenta.
“The person who did that removed the baby on Saturday morning.”
Another source alleged that the mother of the baby could be a student who wanted to get rid of the child.
“A lady from the hostel dumped a baby around Salvation Hostel in Ignatius Ajuru University. The child has not really formed.
“The baby still has fresh blood on him. The baby might be about six months old, “she said.
Some of the students said the harsh economic situation might have led the mother to abandon the baby or that it might be a case of having a child out of wedlock.
One of them said, “If the father of the child denies it, that can make the mother to dump the child. Maybe, it was caused by rejection of the girl by the parents for having a child out of wedlock.”
When contacted, the spokesperson for the university, Dr Ngozi Okiridu, confirmed the situation but said it could not be ascertained if the mother of the child is a student.
Okiridu however said the matter had been reported to the police.
“The baby was buried. We are not sure it is a student who did that (had the baby). But the police are handling the matter because we reported to them.”
On her part, the spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said though she saw the report on the social media, she was yet to confirm the incident.
Iringe-Koko said, “I saw it on the Internet. But I will find out from the Divisional Police Officer and get back to you. “
She had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report on Monday.
