Newborn found dead in Koforidua drainage

Correspondence from Michael Oberteye, Eastern Region

The Effiduase Police in Koforidua in the Eastern Region have launched an investigation after residents found the body of a baby in a drain.

In a horrific incident, the body of the newborn baby was found abandoned in a drainage in Effiduase, a suburb of Koforidua.

The body was discovered by passersby early Tuesday morning who alerted the authorities.

The police arrived promptly and transferred the remains to an unconfirmed mortuary for preservation and autopsy.

Assemblyman for Effiduase-Sukuumu Electoral Area, Paddy Raymond speaking to GhanaWeb, said his attention was drawn around 8:30 Tuesday morning to the discovery of the abandoned infant.

“I had information this morning (8:30) that an infant had been found dead in a drainage around the POJOSS junction,” he disclosed, adding that he immediately informed police of the incident.

According to him, personnel of the service informed him that men from the Effiduase Police Station had already visited the place and conveyed the remains of the infant to a nearby hospital for autopsy.

He however couldn’t confirm which hospital it had been sent to neither could he confirm its gender. Asked if this is the first time such an incident is being recorded in the area, he answered in the affirmative.

Mr. Paddy added that he was on his way to the police station to gather more information on the incident.

It’s unclear if the child was delivered and abandoned the same day it was discovered but residents denied knowing its mother and whether she hailed from the neighbourhood.

Neighbours suspect the mother may have abandoned the newborn soon after birth. One of them speaking anonymously, said women continue to dump their babies because they rarely get caught.

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