A day-old baby has been discovered abandoned in Jikoko village, located in the Mpape area of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
According to residents, the infant was found wrapped in cloth and placed in a carton along a bush path near a poultry farm. The shocking discovery was made early Saturday morning.
A resident identified as Aliyu said the entire community was shaken by the incident.
“We woke up to the sight of a newborn baby kept in a carton. It was placed on a bush path close to a poultry farm. The police were contacted immediately, and they took the baby to a health centre,” he said.
FCT Police spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed the incident, stating that the baby is now in the custody of the social welfare department.
This is not the first case of child abandonment reported in Mpape. In January 2025, another newborn was found near Crush Rock behind the uncompleted Red Bricks Market in the area. The mother was later arrested and admitted she left the child due to financial hardship.
In December 2024, the FCT Police Command expressed concern over the growing trend of baby abandonment in Abuja, calling for more support systems to assist struggling parents.
