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A woman from Guru village, located at the outskirt of Bauchi, Bauchi State, has admitted that she threw her one day old infant into the soakaway shortly after putting to bed at home because of hardship.
Juliana James, a mother of six, who is also from Shendan Local Government Area of Plateau State, wept uncontrollably as she spoke with newsmen at the Bauchi’s police Command headquarters, claiming she loved her child.
The woman who is a full housewife lives with her James, her husband and six children (a boy and five girls) in a one room apartment, said things were so rough for her family, that was the major reason for deciding to do away with the new born.
“Things are hard. My husband has no job. He had an accident three months ago. He is still in the hospital and the situation became worse for us. We don’t see food to eat. We were dying of starvation.
“I delivered at home and threw the baby into the toilet because I didn’t know how we are going to take care of it. I didn’t tell my husband, “ she narrated while weeping.
Juliana who said that an accident made her husband impotent three months ago, explained that when the cry of the baby in the soak away became too much and becomes unbearable for her, she had to change her mind and ran to her neighbours and narrated everything to them. The baby girl was later rescued alive and taken to the Abubakar Tafawa University Teaching Hospital for medical attention.
A source close to Juliana who pleaded anonymity said: “She was a hardworking mother and House wife who fried kwosai (bean-cake in the neighbourhood but for some time now during her pregnancy she had not been coming out. May be the recession took its toll on her.”
Juliana was later arrested by the police and currently in detention at the police station.
The State Commissioner of police in person of Zaki Ahmed who paraded the suspect for child abandonment along with other suspects, said the case is currently under investigation and also the rescued baby has been handed over to social welfare officials after being certified healthy.
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