60 abandoned babies found in Lagos in 1 year

Kunle Awosiyan, Lagos - 05.05.2008

No fewer than 60 abandoned babies were found at different locations in Lagos State in the last one year, the Special Adviser to the state governor on Youth, Sports and Social Development, Dr. Dolapo Badru, has said.

He said this at the ministerial news conference to mark one year of Governor Babatunde Fashola in office at the weekend. According to him, many of the babies were below three years of age with many of them picked up from the streets and refuse dumps, adding, “One of these children was the abandoned baby girl found in a canal around Ifako, Ogba in December 2007 by a good Nigerian.

“The government has since taken the baby to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja for medical treatment while others had since been referred to the state motherless babies’ homes for proper care,” he said.

As parts of its efforts to give the abandoned babies love and care, the Special Adviser said the government gave some of the children out to some parents on adoption. He noted that 117 children had been adopted by interested members of the society and that the state government had generated over N8 million as revenue on adoption.