By Zera Nambu
A 31-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicions of aborting her eight-month-old baby and dumping the body in a toilet at Banja Street, Nkwen, Bamenda. The discovery was made during the night of Saturday breaking Sunday, August 9.
The case was brought to the attention of the Army Rescue Unit, which intervened and recovered the baby’s body from the toilet with authorisation from the State Counsel.
The woman was arrested and taken to the Judicial Police for questioning. She initially denied being pregnant and denied having aborted the pregnancy.
During questioning, she later admitted to the act. She claimed she did not know she was pregnant and said she had bought concuctions on Saturday from a street vendor.
According to her statement, she told investigators that the medication was intended to treat what she described as a fungal infection and stomach pain.
Investigators then asked her to contact the vendor and tell him that the stomach pain had persisted, with the aim of having him return with another medication. She had his phone number so she called and arranged to meet him around Mobile Nkwen.
When the man arrived, he was arrested and taken to the Judicial Police for questioning over the medication he had sold to the woman and its possible connection to the incident.
Investigators also found blood in a bucket, while blood stains were seen along the road leading towards the toilet where the baby was dumped.
Neighbours said the woman frequently wore kaba and had denied being pregnant whenever the issue was raised in the neighbourhood.
The woman and the man who sold her the medication remain at the Judicial Police as investigations continue to establish the circumstances surrounding the baby’s death and the role of the medication seller in the incident.