Abandoned Two day Old baby, Rescued And Named After Late Chief Okoya-Thomas

An abandoned two-day old baby found in a kiosk by the roadside on Sunday, has been named after Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas; a late businessman and philanthropist, who recently passed on.

The baby was reportedly seen in a roadside kiosk close to Wema Bank Plc, Marina around 4pm, while onlookers watched and did nothing before he was finally picked up by a Good Samaritan who runs a NGO.

According to Dr. Oscar Odiboh, the man who picked up the baby, who is also the President of Afribaby Initiative, he explained that he got a call and acted promptly to save the baby.

“I got a distress call on Sunday that a baby had been abandoned by the roadside at Marina. I left everything I was doing and rushed to the scene.

“While I was heading for the scene, I contacted the police and some medical personnel to be on standby. On getting there, I discovered that the baby was abandoned inside a kiosk. People were gathered and just watching, cursing the mother. Nobody dared to go near the baby. A few minutes after I got there, the police arrived and I was allowed to carry the baby. We took him to the station and I handed him over to the family support unit of the police at the Adeniji Adele Police Station,” He said.

When asked on how he came about the name Okoya-Thomas for the baby, he said the whole idea was to immortalise the late philanthropist, who was passionate about child support.

He said, “Knowing that the police would transfer the baby to the appropriate government agency, and in order to create an identity for the baby, I decided to name him after Chief Okoya-Thomas.

“Coincidentally, I was wearing one of his burial attires on that day and the baby, who we have adjudged to be about two days old, might have been born the same day our he was buried,” he added.

A police officer in the family support unit of the station, where little Okoya-Thomas was taken to, who identified herself as Idowu, the Child Protection Officer, confirmed to a Punch correspondent  that the baby was brought on Monday and had been handed over to an undisclosed orphanage.

“We have our procedure. Once a child is in government custody, we dont disclose information about that child,” she said. 

Image Credit : Punch/Emeka Obi