Benue Woman Kills 11-month-old Daughter

A young woman from Mbadyur council ward in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State, Sughshater Ushahemba, has allegedly killed her 11-month-old baby through poison.

The police were said to have arrested the woman and investigating the reason for taking the life of her baby.

It was gathered from the community that the woman was said to have fed the baby with a substance suspected to be a chemical in the wee hours of Saturday.

Another source quoted the woman to have said that the baby developed high temperature in the wee hours of Saturday and died.

The woman was said to have been caught when she tried to bury the baby in the early hours of Saturday.

But the Information Officer, Logo LGA, Paul Pevikyaa, who spoke to journalists on Monday, said the woman had earlier told people that the baby had taken ill in the night at about 12:31a.m with high fever and died after two hours.

The Information Officer, however, said the woman later confessed to killing her baby because she was abandoned by the man who impregnated her.

He said: “When the woman was interviewed, she (the woman) said when they were asleep, at about 12:31 am, the baby started having high fever and that the body was so hot that she gave up within two hours.

“She said that the mistake she made was at daybreak she failed to inform her neighbours that this was what happened in the night because there is a strong belief that when you have neighbours and when you are having difficulties at night, at least you can call your neighbours to help you and they can be your witness. But she never did that.

“So, when day broke, she now attempted burying the baby. The baby was 11 months old.”

Pevikyaa said that when people were not convinced with her report, they continued to question her and she later confessed the real reason she killed her child.

The Information Officer added that the young woman said she was impregnated by her boyfriend and after she gave birth to a baby girl, the boy abandoned her with the child.

“She said she had been suffering with the child and that was why she poisoned her by giving her chemical that is used to spray grasses,” Pevikyaa said.

Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer, Benue State Command, SP Catherine Anene, confirmed the incident saying the suspect was in custody.