Residents recover decomposing body of newborn in Ogun community

Residents of the Oyede Avenue Plaza in the Sango-Ota area of Ogun State on Sunday discovered the decomposing body of a newborn baby in their neighbourhood.

A police source told PUNCH Online that the mother of the baby girl, identified as 21-year-old Esther Ojuko, who was believed to have delivered the baby alive, allegedly killed her by wrapping the baby inside a sack and throwing her into a nearby compound.

It could not ascertain how old the deceased baby was when the incident happened.

The state police command said Ojuko might be mentally unbalanced at the time of the crime.

It was gathered from the command that when a stench dominated the area, some residents began combing the surroundings to find out the source of the unpleasant smell.

It was also gathered that a resident later discovered that the stench was emanating from a sack behind a compound in the area.

While the residents unfolded the sack, they were greeted with shock after they found the decomposing body of the newborn tightly wrapped.

Upon discovery, one of the residents, identified simply as Ogunmuyiwa, was said to have approached the Sango-Ota Police Division to report the incident.

Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, who confirmed the incident to our correspondent on Monday, said the mother had been arrested.

“The mother is in our custody for suspected murder. We have begun a full investigation into the circumstances behind her action.

“In the meantime, the deceased baby has been deposited at the Ifo General Hospital mortuary for autopsy,” she told our correspondent via WhatsApp message on Monday.