A 50-year-old grandmother escaped death by the whiskers yesterday, in the densely populated Ajegunle area of Lagos, after she was attacked by a mob that thought she stole a day-old baby.
The woman, whose identity could not be immediately ascertained, was reportedly seen cuddling the day-old-baby whom she wrapped in a cloth.
Some curious persons were said to have raised alarm that she kidnapped the baby which made the mob surround her.
She reportedly tried in vain to explain that the baby was her grand-child and that the mother was still recuperating in the hospital, as the mob descended on her.
An eyewitness, who identified herself as Ubani Amara, said: “When they asked her at first where she got the baby from, she ignored the question.
“That gave room for suspicion that she could have kidnapped the baby because of the spate of kidnappings in Lagos. Again, she looked too old to give birth.
“A man among the crowd was the first to hit her, followed by slaps. That was when she said the baby belongs to her daughter. Nobody believed the claim because they expected to see the mother with her.
“The mob even tried to take the baby from her but the woman held tight to him, causing the baby to start bleeding from the cord.”
The swift arrival of policemen from Ajegunle division saved the woman from being lynched.
Preliminary investigation, according to sources at the division, revealed that the child was indeed the woman’s grandchild.
Sources disclosed that the medical doctor at an undisclosed private hospital around Aiyetoro where the grandmother claimed her child was, was invited to ascertain the claim.
According to the source, “when the doctor arrived, he confirmed that the biological mother was still in the hospital, explaining she developed some complications after birth. The doctor said she also could not breast feed the baby and advised the grandmother to take the baby home in order to give him proper bath and water, while the mother was being treated.
“The doctor said the baby was delivered around 8.45 a.m. and that any attempt by his mother to breast feed him could lead to her death because she has lost so much blood and was weak and pale.”
– See more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/05/grandmother-saved-from-lynching-over-false-kidnap-alarm/#sthash.rlaIDszn.dpuf
