Mother, Five-Month-Old Baby Rescued From Canal Along Lagos-Badagry Expressway

Operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps, popularly known as Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), have rescued a mother and her five-month-old baby girl from a canal along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, barely two weeks after four other nursing mothers and their children were rescued from a dumpsite along the same road.

The agency's spokesperson, Lukman Ajayi, told PUNCH Metro in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that the operatives discovered the mother and child while carrying out routine clearance operations in the Abule-Ado area of the expressway.

According to Ajayi, the mother was unable to explain the circumstances that led her and her baby to the canal, while the infant was found to be in poor health.

He said the operatives, concerned for the safety of both mother and child, promptly rescued them and took them to a nearby hospital for treatment.

"Today, our operatives rescued a mother and her five-month-old baby girl from a canal at Abule-Ado during routine clearance operations on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway," Ajayi said.

"The mother could not give a satisfactory answer as to why they were there, and she only said she was running from her husband, who lived in FESTAC," he added.

"Both the mother and the child have been taken to the hospital. The child was not in a good state of health when they were rescued," he said.

The latest rescue has again drawn attention to the vulnerability of mothers and young children found living or seeking refuge in unsafe environments along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, with previous rescues by KAI highlighting concerns about sanitation, child welfare and access to necessities.

The repeated discoveries underscore the need for environmental enforcement and social welfare agencies to work together to identify vulnerable families and provide them with appropriate shelter, healthcare and other support, rather than leaving them exposed to hazardous conditions.

PUNCH Metro had earlier reported on August 12 that the agency rescued four nursing mothers and their babies from an illegal dumpsite at Agboju along the same expressway.

According to a statement on the agency's X page, one of the babies rescued was only nine days old and had been living in conditions marked by filth, poor air quality and inadequate access to necessities.