Four nursing mothers and their infants were saved from an illegal dumpsite at Agboju along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway in Lagos State by the Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps, often known as KAI.
The rescue was conducted on Monday as part of an ongoing inter-agency cleanup of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway corridor with the goal of eliminating unlawful dumpsites, shanties, and other environmental violations, according to a statement on the agency’s website on Tuesday.
According to the statement, Olaniyi Cole, the Corps Marshal of LAGESC, revealed that workers were horrified to find young women residing at the illegal dumpsite with their infants in what he described as cruel conditions.
He claims that one of the infants saved was just nine days old and had been living in a filthy, poorly air-quality environment with limited access to basic requirements.
Fareedat Muyideen, 23, of Kwara State, and her two-year-old child; Ayomide Ayomoke, 25, of Ondo State, and her ten-month-old child; Amanda Oziema Abalihi, 20, of Anambra State, and her nine-day-old child; and Chisom Ugo, 24, of Imo State, and her eleven-month-old child, were the women who were rescued.
Concerns about the women’s and their children’s health and safety led to their rescue, he said, adding that they were being treated medically before being returned to their relatives or reported to the appropriate social authorities.
Cole was quoted in the statement as saying, “The inter-Agency cleanup of the Lagos-Badagry expressway, which has been going on for weeks, is intended to remove infractions and hindrances on that corridor, which has been successful. However, to our utter amazement, we discovered that there are young nursing mothers living in inhumane conditions in these illegal dump sites and shanties. Therefore, we need to rescue them, offer medical assistance before reuniting them with their families or the welfare authorities.
Cole stated that the rescued mothers and children were currently receiving medical attention and urged family members who might be looking for the women to get in touch with the appropriate authorities.
In order to guaranty the women’s and their children’s rehabilitation and reintegration, he added, LAGESC was collaborating with pertinent governmental and humanitarian organizations.
Given that some young people wind up on the streets due to claimed abuse at home, the Corps Marshal asked parents and guardians to focus more on their children’s welfare.
He reaffirmed the Lagos State Government’s stance against child abuse and neglect and threatened to prosecute parents and guardians who were proven to be at fault.
