A mentally ill woman was, on Tuesday, caught with a dead baby strapped to her back for over a week at Effium in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

The woman, it was gathered, came to the community some months ago from an unknown destination and found an abode in an uncompleted one-storey building opposite a transport firm, but she was suddenly discovered to be carrying a dead baby.

The development, PUNCH Metro learnt, caused fear of a possible outbreak of diseases in the area, as the woman roamed the entire community with the dead baby strapped to her back.

A community source, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity said, “The woman came to Effium community a couple of months ago from an unknown destination; nobody can trace her origin for now. She came into Effium and found an uncompleted one-storey building, opposite the Christ Light Transport Company, where she is taking refuge.

“Along the line, people discovered that she was carrying a lifeless baby strapped to her back. She was roaming the nook and crannies of Effium with the dead baby on her back. The odour started chasing people away. It was at this point that residents reported the matter to the police.”

The source added, “The police alerted the two coordinators in the area, Agbo Sunday of the Effium Development Centre, and Mrs Eucharia Ogwale of the Effium South Development Centre. The two coordinators mobilised some youths in the area to dispossess the woman of the dead baby.

“But the woman was resistant and so, it was difficult to get the dead baby from her. She vehemently resisted the youth from collecting the baby from her. However, the youth were smart enough, overpowered her and eventually collected the baby from her yesterday (Tuesday).

“The baby was already decomposing on her back, because she had carried it for over one week or so. The youth collected the baby from her and it was buried at the cemetery on Tuesday.”

When contacted, Sunday confirmed that the baby was buried on Tuesday and that people were already going about their normal business.

“People should go about their business because the situation has been put under control. The dead baby was buried on Tuesday,” he stated.

The spokesperson for the state police command, Mrs Loveth Odah, did not pick calls put across to her mobile telephone and had yet to respond to a text message sent to her on the development as of the time of filing this report.

By Edward Nnachi