Mentally ill woman: Fake family members show up

Some people showed up at the Lagos State
Government secretariat on Wednesday, saying they
were relatives of Amudatulai, the mentally ill woman
who gave birth to a baby girl at a rubbish dump.

They were said to have brought pictures and some
other materials with them from Ibadan, Oyo State
on Wednesday to back their claims.
Our correspondent, however, learnt that when they
were grilled, they were discovered to have no
relationship with the woman.
The three people were said to have been dismissed
by the state officials. PUNCH Metro had reported on
Monday that Amudatulai had been wandering in
Mushin area of Lagos for four years before she was
impregnated by an unknown man. She gave birth on
December 25, 2013.
Some members of the Oduduwa Community
Association, Mushin Local Government Area,
immediately took care of both mother and child,
including providing them with a temporary
accommodation.
However, when the report of the incident hit the
news stand, the Lagos State Government, through
the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, took
custody of the duo.
The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Government
on Youth and Social Development, Dr. Dolapo Badru,
confirmed to our correspondent that the mother and
the child were in the custody of the state
government and were receiving proper care and
treatment.
He said the mother and child had been separated
because they required different treatments.
He said, “The woman and her baby are in our
custody and both of them are responding to
treatment. The woman is undergoing treatment in
one of our centres and the baby has been taken to
an orphanage.
“At this point, the baby has been taken away from
the woman. There are professional care workers
taking care of the woman, and there are
professionals taking care of the child. We will bring
them together when the time is ripe. However, we
can hand over the baby to true family members of
the woman, which we have yet to see.”
Meanwhile, a resident of the community, Alhaji
Babatunde Shittu, has expressed fear over what
could become of the baby after she was separated
from her mother.
Shittu said a similar incident had occurred in the
area some years ago concerning another mentally
ill woman.
He said, “I learnt that Amudatulai has been taken to
Ikorodu, and this is my fear. The community has
been trooping my house because I brought this
matter to the knowledge of the press. There was a
similar case in our area some years ago.
They took the mad woman and the baby away.
Later, we saw the woman return to the streets,
while the baby was gone. I want to be sure the
woman is safe because I have my integrity to
protect.”