A premature baby was discovered dead in front of a female hostel at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in Port Harcourt.

It was gathered that the male child, who was covered with a cloth, was dropped by an unknown person on Saturday morning

Some students who spoke about the incident said the baby, who is between six and seven months old, was dumped at the Rumulumeni campus of the university in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.

One of the students who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “I woke up in the morning and started hearing noise everywhere and I rushed out.

“Only for me to see gathering and looking further, I saw a forming baby of about six months inside a hole with blood all over and the placenta.

“The person who did that removed the baby on Saturday morning.”

Another source alleged that the mother of the baby could be a student who wanted to get rid of the child.

“A lady from the hostel dumped a baby around Salvation Hostel in Ignatius Ajuru University. The child has not really formed.

“The baby still has fresh blood on him. The baby may be about six months old, ” she said.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the university, Dr Ngozi Okiridu, confirmed the development but said it could not be ascertained if the child was a student’s.

Okiridu, however, said the matter has been reported to the police.

“The baby was buried. We are not sure it is a student that did that. But the police is handling the matter because we reported it to them,” she said.

On her part, the spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she saw it on social media but was yet to confirm the incident.

Iringe-Koko said, “I saw it on the internet. But I will find out from the Divisional Police Officer and get back to you.”

She is yet to do so as of the time of filing this report on Monday. (The PUNCH)