A two-year old toddler locked up in an uncompleted building at Zone 5, Agbama Housing Estate Umuahia for several days has been rescued by officials of the Gender Based Violence Response Team of Vicar Hope Foundation.
The little girl, whose name could not be ascertained at the time of rescue was locked up by a person suspected to be the mother. She suffered from exhaustion, dehydration and malnourishment having gone for several hours, perhaps days without food.
According to Programme Manager, Vicar Hope Foundation, Mr. Raymond Ukwa, the Foundation had received an SOS call in the afternoon of Saturday 25th of April from landlords and neighbours in the area with the information that a child had been locked up in an uncompleted building.
Mr. Ukwa, who heads the intervention team said the Foundation, working in line with well-established protocols on intervention swiftly reported the incident to the Umuahia Area Commander of the Nigeria Police Force, Mr. Ekeinde Odion, who detailed officers that broke into the building and rescued the near lifeless child.
“As a foundation we believe in creating a safe environment for our children, a lot of deaths of children every year occur because of negligence and preventable diseases, it’s our duty to ensure we reduce these numbers and protect the right to life of every child,” said Mr. Ukwa.
Neighbours around the vicinity of the building who spoke to newsmen during the rescue operation said that the parent of the child usually locks away the little child for days without food or water, revealing that they sometimes throw in crumbs of food for the baby through a crack in the wall of the building.
Speaking on the incident, the Assistant Secretary, Board of Trustees of the Foundation, Mr. Chika Ojiegbe said the child was resuscitated, examined by a medical personnel and has been taken to a safe dwelling while relevant authorities have begun investigation into the circumstances surrounding the abandonment of the baby.
As at the time of this report, the supposed mother who had locked the child away was yet to show up, more than twenty-four hours after the incident.
Meanwhile, the state commissioner for Nigerian Girls Guide Association, Mrs. Queen Nwarie has commended the Founder of Vicar Hope Foundation, Mrs. Nkechi Ikpeazu for rescuing the little child.
In a message to the Founder, Mrs. Queen said the quick response of the GBV desk of Mrs. Ikpeazu’s Foundation had made the difference between life and death for the toddler. She commended several humanitarian activities Mrs. Ikpeazu has carried out through her foundation, restoring lives and giving hope to numerous Abians.