Officials of the gender -based violence response team of the Vicar Hope Foundation , Umuahia, have rescued a two -year- old child suspected to have been locked up for several days in an uncompleted building at the Zone 5 Agbama Housing Estate, Umuahia, Abia State .
The baby , whose name could not be ascertained as of the time of rescue, looked exhausted , dehydrated and malnourished, perhaps haven gone several days without food or water.
According to the Programme Manager , Vicar Hope Foundation, Mr Raymond Ukwa, the organisation received a call on Saturday , April 25, 2020, from landlords in the area that a child had been locked up in an uncompleted building.
Ukwa said working in line with well- established protocols on intervention , the foundation reported the incident to the Umuahia Area Commander of the Nigeria Police Force, Mr Ekeinde Odion , who detailed officers to break into the building so that the child could be rescued.
“ As a foundation , we believe in creating a safe environment for our children; a lot of deaths of children every year occur because of negligence and preventable diseases ; it’ s our duty to ensure that we reduce these numbers and protect the right to life of every child, ” he stated.
Neighbours, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the child’ s parents were in the habit of locking him up for days without food or water , adding that they sometime pass food through a crack in the wall of the building to him .
The Assistant Secretary , Board of Trustees of the foundation , Mr Chika Ojiegbe , said the child was examined by medical personnel and taken to a safe dwelling, while relevant authorities had commenced investigation into the circumstances surrounding his abandonment in the uncompleted building.
The state Commissioner for the Nigerian Girls’ Guild Association , Mrs Queen Nwarie , commended the founder of the Vicar Hope Foundation and wife of the state governor , Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu , for rescuing the child.
Nwarie said the quick response of the foundation made the difference between life and death for the toddler.