Grandmother Arrested For Burying Newborn Alive In Lagos

The grandmother of a 17-year-old girl identified as Favour has been arrested for allegedly burying her daughter’s newborn baby alive in Ogombo area of Ajah, Lagos State.

According to Punch newspaper, the grandmother became enraged upon discovering her teenage daughter’s pregnancy and took extreme measures to conceal it from the public. Despite her efforts, neighbours began to suspect her and eventually drew attention to the pregnancy.

Naija News reports that the grandmother’s initial response was to deny the neighbours’ claims.

However, in a viral video posted by Peace Ighodaro on X, the teenager revealed that she gave birth without assistance and informed her mother immediately after.

“I was the one that called my mother after I gave birth. When I gave birth, I did not know what was going on,” Favour said in the video.

Ighodaro’s post further alleged that the grandmother retrieved the baby, left the premises, and later told Favour that the baby had died.

She accused the grandmother of ending the baby’s life despite offers from people willing to adopt the newborn.

“A girl called Favour in Ogombo, Ajah, gave birth last Saturday, but her mother snatched the baby from her arms and brutally murdered it. The mother had been in denial about the teenager’s pregnancy, even after a test confirmed it. She went to great lengths to hide the baby bump, tying it up and keeping the teenager isolated at home,” Ighodaro wrote.

A source, who spoke anonymously, told PUNCH that a neighbour confessed to witnessing the grandmother bury the baby alive.

The source recounted that the neighbour rushed to retrieve the baby but found it had already died.

“One of the neighbors said he saw when the grandmother was burying the baby in the backyard of their residence but when he rushed out to dig the grave to rescue the baby, only the corpse was recovered. It’s disturbing why the neighbor chose to watch till the baby was buried before deciding to intervene. Even before the baby was buried, the neighbor said he saw the baby was still crying and also saw when the grandmother was digging the ground,” the source said.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident, noting that the grandmother had been arrested.

“The grandma has been arrested; the mother heard her baby crying after the grandmother took the baby from her. The grandmother later returned to tell her that the baby had died.

“Investigation revealed that she buried the baby alive and the baby had died when neighbors dug the grave to rescue it. It was premeditated; the mother of the baby was 17 years old and she is in our custody not as a suspect but to be taken care of,” Hundeyin explained.