There was pandemonium in the main campus of Gombe State University, Gombe on Saturday over the death of a day-old baby after it was thrown down from the second floor of the female hostel.
The body of the newborn baby was found in the early hours of Saturday near Hall IV of the university’s female hostels.
Passersby who saw the body raised the alarm only to discover that the baby was already dead from the injury it sustained in the right leg.
The baby was later traced to a female student identified simply as Rahab, a 400 Level Public Administration student of the institution.
The incident attracted a large crowd of sympathisers who gathered around the female hostels discussing the matter.
An eyewitness, who prefers anonymity, said Rahab had been hiding the pregnancy in her hijab gown for months to prevent her from being noticed.
She was later arrested by the university security in the midst of an angry mob, covered in hijab to protect her from mob attack.
The university’s Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Abubakar, who confirmed the incident to The Nation newspaper, said a lady had been identified for committing the crime.
Abubakar said: “It is confirmed that a baby was thrown down from a height in one of the female hostels.
“It is a serious action and the university is investigating it.
“Disciplinary action will be taken on it because it is a crime to murder a baby.
“If it is a matter of delivering the baby now, there is no problem.
“But throwing an innocent day-old baby to death is a crime.”
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Abubakar also confirmed that the matter had been formally reported to the police for further investigation.
The Gombe State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Mahid Mua’zu, said the police also heard about the incident through social media, but had not received any report from the university’s authorities at the time of filing this report.
Mua’zu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, said: “We heard of the incident on social media like every other person, but have not received a formal complaint from the university’s authorities.
“So, I can say yes, we have heard of it informally on social media and investigation has commenced.
“We also heard that the baby has been taken to the hospital and we are trying to fish out the culprit.”