OGUN STATE GOVT TAKES CUSTODY OF ABANDONED INFANT

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BY JEN NOMAMIUKOR

The Ogun State Commissioner for Women’s Affairs and Social Development, Adijat Adeleye, asserts that the state has assumed guardianship of a two-day-old infant left behind at Sayedero Market in Ilaro, Yewa South Local Government Area of the state.

It was discovered that the infant was located by a woman last week and subsequently entrusted to the authorities.

Nevertheless, in two distinct viral recordings, the woman claimed that the baby disappeared following the intervention of representatives from the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, appealing to “benevolent members of the community to assist me in locating the child. ”

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The commissioner, reacting to the video, said the baby was in good condition and was legally taken into protective custody by the ministry after due documentation by the police.

She made this assertion while addressing journalists on Thursday in Abeokuta, saying that the woman’s actions were an attempt to “emotionally blackmail the government and mislead the public”.

The commissioner also dismissed the purported intended adoption by the woman who discovered the infant.

“We don’t normally allow those who know the history of a baby to adopt him or her because of the future. We don’t give a child up for adoption in an environment where their stories are known,” she explained.

Adeleye declared that the baby now belongs to Governor Dapo Abiodun, whom she described as “the father of all rescued babies in the state until adoption”.

“Any child found in Ogun State belongs to the state government. They are all children of the governor, and that’s why whenever we are naming them, their surname is that of the governor of the day.

“It’s not something that started with Prince Dapo Abiodun; it’s something that has been there. You see some children, they bear Daniel (referring to former Governor Gbenga Daniel); some of them, their surname is Amosun (referring to former Governor Ibikunle Amosun), and some of them, their surname is Abiodun, depending on when they’re found.”

She maintained that while there were laid‑down procedures and guidelines for adoption in the state, no orphanage or individual had the right to put a child up for adoption without approval from the ministry.

She warned that anyone found doing so would be charged with abduction and made to face the full weight of the law.