FCT Police Trace Mother of Abandoned One-Day-Old Baby After Public Appeal

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has located the mother of a one-day-old baby girl who was abandoned by the roadside in the Galadima area of Abuja.

The woman, identified simply as Soliat from Oyo State, was tracked down after police publicised the case online, prompting neighbours who knew she had been pregnant to confront her.

According to the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, Soliat told investigators she was gang-raped by four men in Keffi, where she previously lived.

She said she left Keffi for Abuja after the assault and moved in with her brother, concealing her pregnancy out of fear that he would throw her out if he discovered it.

Soliat reportedly said she was overwhelmed by shame and unable to identify the father of the child, having failed in earlier attempts to terminate the pregnancy.

After giving birth, she placed the newborn in a carton and abandoned the baby by the roadside. From a hiding spot nearby, she watched as a good samaritan discovered the infant and took the child to the Galadima police station.

The breakthrough came after SP Adeh brought the case online. Neighbours who had been aware of Soliat’s pregnancy accosted her and, after much questioning, she admitted the abandoned child was hers.

The baby is currently under the care of relevant authorities while investigations continue to determine the next legal steps.

The Galadima case was reported as the third abandoned newborn found in the FCT within roughly two weeks, following separate rescues in Kurudu and Gwagwalada earlier in September.