Operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps, popularly known as KAI, have rescued a mother and her five-month-old daughter from a canal at Abule-Ado along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
The rescue came about two weeks after the agency saved four nursing mothers and their children from an illegal dumpsite in the same axis.
The latest incident occurred during a routine clearance operation by KAI officials in the Abule-Ado area of the expressway.
The agency’s spokesperson, Lukman Ajayi, disclosed the development on Wednesday, noting that the circumstances surrounding the presence of the mother and child in the canal remained unclear.
Ajayi said the woman was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for being at the location but told the operatives that she had fled from her husband, who resides in FESTAC.
He said the five-month-old baby was found in poor health, prompting the operatives to immediately evacuate both mother and child and take them to a nearby hospital for medical attention.
According to him, the welfare of the mother and her daughter remained the immediate concern of the rescuers, given the hazardous environment in which they were found.
The repeated rescue of mothers and young children from unsafe locations along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway has raised concerns about the vulnerability of families lacking adequate shelter and basic necessities.
The incidents have also highlighted the need for closer collaboration between environmental enforcement agencies and social welfare authorities to ensure that vulnerable families are provided with healthcare, safe accommodation and other necessary support.
Earlier, on August 12, KAI operatives rescued four nursing mothers and their babies from an illegal dumpsite at Agboju along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
One of the children was reportedly only nine days old at the time of the rescue, with the agency describing the environment as filthy and unsafe, with poor air quality and inadequate access to basic necessities.
The rescued women were identified as Fareedat Muyideen, 23, from Kwara State, who was with her two-year-old child; Ayomide Ayomoke,in 25, from Ondo State, with her 10-month-old baby; Amanda Oziema Abalihi, 20, from Anambra State, with her nine-day-old baby; and Chisom Ugo, 24, from Imo State, with her 11-month-old child.