A baby girl dumped in a farm by the mother at Adaka, a suburb in Makurdi, the Benue state capital 14 days ago is currently battling for survival in a Makurdi hospital.
The baby girl, it was gathered, was picked up by a good Samaritan, Joy Kwaghtse, along a path leading to her farm on 26th October, 2021 about 12 noon.
Kwaghtse, a farmer and mother of two, who narrated the incident to journalists Tuesday in Makurdi, said the baby was tied in a black linen bag drenched by a heavy rainfall and eaten up by soldier ants when she discovered her.
She described as pathetic the situation of the baby at the scene where she picked her up.
She said at the first instance when she saw her, she thought it was a snake.
She said: “I have a farm around Adaka. So on this fateful day, 26th October, 2021, I had gone to check my farm and saw something tied in a black linen bag on a path to the farm.
“I did not know what it was, but the sight of it from afar instantly gripped me with fear.
“I thought it was a snake because it moved. Being afraid, I did not go close but decided to go to the roadside and beckon on passers-by.
“But the first person I called, a commercial motorcyclist, fled when he saw the object moving in the bag.
“Then I summoned courage, clutched my scapular and dragged the bag. Then I discovered to my dismay that it was a child struggling for survival.
“She had mud all over her body even as soldier ants had eaten her head, face and buttocks.
“Amidst her decaying and smelly body, I picked and wrapped her. I proceeded to D Division in Ankpa Quarters where I was referred to the headquarters.
“There, they took my statement and told me to take the baby to the hospital for immediate medical treatment. Then I went to my sister called ‘Mama Nigeria’ who wasted no time in involving a security aide to Governor Samuel Ortom, Tughgba Nightfall. And courtesy of the aide, we ended up at Olive Vine Children Health Center located at SS8 Kwararafa Quarters, off Atiku Abubakar Road, Makurdi.
