The Bayelsa State Government has condemned the dumping of newborn babies at refuse dumpsites within Yenagoa and its environs. Commissioner for Environment, Gbaranbiri Iselema, made the condemnation while featuring on the public affairs programme of Rhythm 94.7FM in Yengaoa on Saturday.

Iselema said that the ministry had buried no fewer than nine dead newborn babies picked from various refuse dumpsites between January and this month.

He vowed that the government would punish severely anyone caught, warning those who engage in the unfortunate act to desist from it.

Iselema said, “We have this challenge of some unscrupulous people turning the Prosperity Administration into a burial committee.They drop dead newborn babies at our dumpsites. I want to tell Bayelsans that we have put a machinery in place and once they are caught, they will meet us in court and explain why they are killing our babies and dumping them at receptacles. That we will do.

“Since January till this month, the ministry has buried nine dead newborn babies dumped at dumpsites within the Yengaoa metropolis.”

The Environment Commissioner also said his ministry had stopped the menace of the use of tyres by some operators of abbatoirs to roast goat, ram and cow meat for consumption by members of the public.

He said the present administration was determined to make the state capital the cleanest city in Nigeria.

Source: The Punch