By Saheed Ibrahim

|

Following a tip-off  about an abandoned child in Kajola, Ijigba community in  Akure, the Ondo State chapter, the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), and the Anti-Human Trafficking Desk of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ondo State command have  successfully rescued an abandoned six-year-old girl.

Led by the Chairperson of NAWOJ, Mrs. Tola Gbadamosi, the team, alongside The Hope, stormed the house where the child was being kept.

The father,  Ibrahim Abdulmalik, who was not at home when the team arrived, was later summoned. His wife was said to have travelled for a function.

The 29-year old man from Kogi State denied abandoning his six-year old daughter, claiming he had spent some  of money seeking treatment for her medical condition.

“When the mother  gave birth to this baby, nothing was wrong with her.  When I was in school, the mother called me, complaining that she did not know what was happening to the child. She said she was crying all the time,” he recounted.

He explained that he returned home to attend to the child and took her to a doctor, who prescribed medications. However, he faced challenges getting  the prescribed drugs due to their unavailability.

To secure the medicatio, Mr Abdulmalik said that he sold his land in the village, adding: “The medicine was expensive; one cost N45,000, and the otherN17,000, for just three pieces. I managed to buy them, and the child took the medicine three times.”

Despite administering the medication, he said the child’s health did not improve. He said he returned to the hospital in Ado Ekiti, where he was advised to buy another  drugs costing N75,000.

“I sold whatever I could to get the money and bought the medication,” adding that despite all his efforts, the child’s condition remained unchanged.

With the intervention of the team from NAWOJ, FIDA, and NSCDC, the child was taken to the Mother and Child Hospital at Oke-Aro in Akure.

Speaking with The Hope at the hospital, Ondo NAWOJ Chairperson, Mrs. Tola Gbadamosi described the case as pathetic.

“We moved in this morning with our team. By the time we got there, we actually met the child on the floor, on her bare body. It’s a six-year-old child, a beautiful girl.

“At the end of the day, we were able to reach out to the parents, and they have been able to put things together. We had to rescue the child and bring her down to the hospital,” she said.

Gbadamosi further disclosed that the child is currently receiving medical attention at the Mother and Child Hospital to assess her health status and determine the next steps.

She added that the team would continue to monitor the child to ensure she receives the care she deserves.