THE killing of infants remains a tragic and largely hidden practice in some communities across Nigeria. The ICIR reports that among the Bassa Komo community of the Federal Capital Territory, children are often labelled as “evil” and left to die under deeply entrenched cultural beliefs.

Surviving infanticide

Olufemi Stephen almost had his life and childhood stolen from him when his mother died during his birth. He may not have been alive today, if his community had succeeded in following the age-long ritual of burying a new born baby along with a mother that died at childbirth.

Now 20, Olufemi grew up in the orphanage, where he was named just like all the other babies brought in. When he turned 18, his world shifted when a man claiming to be his father surfaced at the home, seeking to take him away.

“One Sunday afternoon, my biological father appeared out of nowhere and introduced himself. I told him straight – ‘I don’t know you as my dad’. He claimed he wanted to make amends, but it felt hollow. I’d already bonded with the man who raised me from birth,” he said.”

“I once wished I had parents who would drop me off at school, bring me food, and be there for me. But I came to understand that while people call us less privileged, we in this home are actually very privileged.”

Olufemi dreams of becoming a gospel musician and a lawyer, using his voice and legal knowledge to advocate for abandoned children like himself.

Godiya Stephen, another survivor of infanticide, believes that lack of medical access plays a significant role. She lost her mother during childbirth. Children whose mothers die during childbirth, as well as twins and those born with genetic conditions like albinism, are often targeted for infanticide in some communities within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“If there was healthcare, my mother wouldn’t have died, and the practice wouldn’t still be happening,” she said.

For survivors like Godiya, the journey does not end with being rescued. Even after growing up in a safe environment, the stigma remains.

“When my siblings found me in 2021, I was already doing my A-levels. They told me that after my father abandoned me, they had been looking for me. They had no idea where I had been taken,” she recounted.

Despite this reunion, she is not in a hurry to return to her village, Baribari, in Abaji Area Council of the FCT.

“For years, they’ve been asking me to come back, but I don’t want to go. Maybe one day, but not yet,” she said.

She now sees herself as a testament to the fact that these children are not evil after all. “If I go back, they will see that I am fine, that the stigma was wrong.”

“Unfortunately, some survivors never got the chance to confront their past. “I wanted to prove to my biological father that I had made a life for myself, but he passed away last December,”  he said.

A journey into the deep end

In rural FCT villages like Dagiri Bassa, the grim practice of infanticide persists, fuelled by entrenched cultural superstitions. These old-age beliefs continue to haunt the community.

To witness the harsh realities in Dagiri Bassa, a remote area in the Kwali Area Council, this reporter embarked on a rugged journey. The 50-minute motorcycle ride  from the council centre along a dusty, unpaved road set the tone for the challenges that lie ahead.

A cloud of red dust enveloped the landscape, dotted with scrubby vegetation. Approaching the village, there was scant sign of life. A worn signboard, almost imperceptible, marked the entrance. The glaring absence of healthcare facilities underscores the community’s struggles.

Tukura Barnabas, a villager, acknowledged that infanticide occurs in the community but declined to elaborate. He disclosed that villagers rely on local birth attendants due to limited healthcare access. He said the nearest primary health care centre, located at Leleyi community, is nearly 30 kilometres away from Dagiri Bassa.

Barnabas stated, “The distance is about 30 kilometres, but transportation is a significant challenge. Many can’t make the journey, even if they want to. Sometimes it feels like getting there is left to God’s mercy.”

Shugaba Rizame, another resident, spoke about the risks and uncertainties of home births in the community.

“You never know if a woman will deliver safely at home or if complications will arise. If things go wrong, the baby’s life might be lost too.”

“Surviving infants are typically taken to an orphanage. We have sent several children there-two or three, I believe. Most of our kids are sent there. Unfortunately, I can’t recall which exactly, but I believe we have about two or three children from this community in an orphanage.”

Bearers of misfortune?

Beyond the tragedy of losing mothers, another grim reality unfolds as infants left behind are often seen as bearers of misfortune. The absence of basic healthcare and the deep-rooted reliance on traditional practices underscore the urgent need for intervention in Dagiri Bassa. In a village where medical facilities are non-existent, maternal deaths during childbirth are all too common.

With no access to medical examinations, age-old superstitions take precedence, fuelling the belief that some children are cursed and must not be allowed to live.

In this isolated and underserved community, tradition is not just a way of life; it is the lens through which survival is understood. Without urgent efforts to provide healthcare and education, practices like infanticide will continue to thrive in the shadows of cultural preservation, trapping the people of Dagiri Bassa and other communities alike in a painful cycle between the past and the present.

The Vine Heritage Home Foundation, an orphanage sheltering such children, has been at the forefront of rescuing and rehabilitating them.

Stephen Olushola, the Head of Operations at the Vine Heritage Home Foundation, has spent years documenting these cases. He highlighted that most of the children rescued from these acts are from the Bassa Komo tribe in the FCT.

Olushola is the person after whom children brought to the orphanage without names are named.

“Ninety-five per cent of the children we rescue come from the Bassa Komo tribe. This practice is embedded in their culture, and cultural beliefs are difficult to challenge,” Olushola noted.

The Bassa Komo are one of the indigenous ethnic groups in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria, alongside other groups such as the Gbagyi, Ganagana, Igbira, Gede, Gwandara, and Nupe. They are primarily found in areas such as Gwagwalada, Abaji, the Airport area in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Dagiri Bassa in Kwali and Rubochi in Kuje.

For many years, infants who were born twins, albinos, or whose mothers died during childbirth have been seen as omens of misfortune. Families fear that keeping these children alive will bring death or disaster upon them. One such child is Gloria Stephen, a 7-year-old girl living in the orphanage, who was affected and abandoned due to this genetic condition.

Albinism is a genetic disorder inherited from parents, characterised by a reduced or absent amount of melanin, the pigment responsible for skin, hair, and eye colour. The two main types are: Oculocutaneous Albinism (OCA); the most common form, affecting the skin, hair, and eyes.  And Ocular Albinism (OA) which primarily impacts the eyes, with minimal effects on skin and hair.  

Alkali Magaji, the then spiritual leader of Kaida, provided insight into the community’s belief system regarding infanticide. In a 2017 report by Voice of America (VOA), Magaji explained that the people view certain children as being linked to malevolent forces and, as a result, reject them.

According to him, the community believes these children are associated with evil spirits and are considered potential witches or wizards. To rid themselves of this perceived threat, they offer the children as sacrifices to a deity known as Otauchi.

Beyond cultural beliefs, a major factor fuelling infanticide is the high maternal mortality rate in these rural communities.

“In these communities, there is no primary healthcare centre where pregnant women can access antenatal care. When complications arise during childbirth, many mothers die. It’s not just about culture; people are reacting to their harsh realities,” Olushola explained. 

With no means to care for a newborn who has lost its mother, families resort to killing the child, convinced that it caused the death. Without access to infant formula or wet nurses, families see no other option but to dispense with the child.

“This is why we tell the government that tackling maternal and child health will directly reduce infanticide, if more mothers survive childbirth, fewer children will be labelled as evil,” Olushola emphasised.

Challenging deep rooted beliefs

Changing centuries-old beliefs is no easy feat. Those who question cultural traditions often face backlash.

Olushola points out that cultural traditions are often so deeply rooted that people accept them without questioning their origins. He explains that since these practices have existed for generations, no one can pinpoint when they began. However, those who dare to challenge them often face rejection from the elders.

This was the tale of Ayuba Baka, a father of twin girls, in Kaida, a remote village in the Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT.

Baka made a courageous choice to go against long-standing cultural beliefs in order to save his daughters. Haunted by what he had seen happen to relatives in the past, he refused to let history repeat itself. Today, his twin girls now fifteen are safe and thriving under the care of the Vine Heritage Home.

He revealed that both his mother and aunt had given birth to twins, but none of the babies lived to see the next day. Baka noted that their deaths remain unexplained, as the families would simply wake up to find that the twins were gone.

“My mother told me she gave birth to twins, and they died the following day. Two of her sisters also gave birth to twins — they are also no more. When they give birth to them, the next day they were no more. After witnessing this, I figured out there is something wrong. Though I did not go to school, I can think on my own,” he noted.

The unexplained death of twins was also corroborated by Andrew Tonak a christian missionary in the village that The ICIR spoke with. Tonak clarified that when people talk about the killing of such children, it isn’t always a direct or visible act. Rather, he said, the children were often found dead under mysterious circumstances, with no clear explanation as to what happened.

He added that while some reports have claimed the children were hanged, such accounts are false. What is consistent, he noted, is that the child simply ends up dead, and the cause remains unknown.

What further prompted Baka’s decision was after visiting other communities and seeing twins being accepted and alive, he began to question why his own community had rejected them.

“Because I go to other places and I see there are twins in their communities, I wonder why we don’t have twins in my own community. I made up my mind that if I would ever have my own twins, I would do everything in my power to protect them. Then I spoke with daddy (referring to Tonak) and he told me not to worry.

As God would have it, I had my own twins and then with the help of daddy, I took the babies to the orphanage home,” Baka explained. 

He recalled that the decision was far from easy, as he faced backlash not just from the  wider community but also from his own family. He shared that some community members were openly hostile, while a relative went as far as accusing him of selling his children because they had not set eyes on them since they were born.

Despite the accusations which he described as hurtful, he said he stood his ground, firmly insisting that he had done what was necessary to protect their lives.

“During festive periods, they come home, and everyone keeps wondering if they were the same children from years ago,” he further highlighted.

Missionaries push for change

In the past, activists and missionaries who tried to end infanticide encountered strong resistance. However, the Vine Heritage Home Foundation has taken a different, more inclusive approach.

Speaking with Andrew Tonak, a religious leader in the village, he recounted that when he first arrived as a missionary and began interacting with the locals, he noticed a deeply rooted belief among them that it was unnatural for a woman to carry two babies at once.

He explained that this perception often fuelled fear and suspicion. In cases where a woman died during childbirth, especially while giving birth to twins, the surviving child was often labelled as evil or cursed, further reinforcing the community’s resistance to accepting multiple births.

“In a situation where a woman delivers and dies in the process, they also believe that that child is an evil child and is not supposed to live,” Tonak explained.

“When we came to realise the practice, we started intervening by rescuing those children. For example, if a woman delivers and we know it is twins, we quickly rush to the family and demand for those children.

And of course, to some extent, they were conflicted from here and other communities, we have up to 20-30 children in the orphanage,” Tonak noted.

Tonak explained that once they understood the reality of what was happening, they knew it was time to take action. He said they began a process of enlightenment, engaging with the villagers and emphasising that twins were not evil but rather normal human beings, even blessings.

“Gradually, they were getting to understand that our belief is wrong. Our concept about twins is wrong. And, to some extent, that enlightenment, that awareness is gradually growing.”

He recounted an experience involving another set of twins delivered in Ike, a village in the Kwali Area Council. Upon arrival, he discovered that two different families in the village had each welcomed a set of twins.

Concerned for the safety of the babies, he attempted to intervene and offer protection. He noted that one of the sets of twins was in the village chief’s house, so he approached the chief to discuss the situation. However, the chief assured him that there was no cause for concern, insisting that the children were fine and there was no threat to their well-being.

He noted that the issue of infanticide in the community is closely tied to the lack of maternal healthcare. He explained that in many cases, women endure prolonged or complicated labour without access to proper medical support, which sometimes led to death during childbirth. 

He shared the example of a woman who was in labour for nearly two days and, after eventually delivering, suffered excessive bleeding and lost consciousness. 

“A woman who had a long labour, I think she was in labour for close to two days, and she couldn’t deliver. When she finally did, the blood was so much that she became unconscious.

 And there was not any nearby facility, no medical missionary, nor government health worker. So, we had to mobilise and carry that woman to the then specialist, now teaching hospital. So, by the grace of God, she was saved.”

He also recounted another tragic case where a woman died during childbirth due to a lack of medical care, the baby was saved and has completed her university studies. 

Tonak emphasised that such tragedies are rooted in the absence of medical guidance and education, highlighting the need for proper maternal healthcare to prevent both maternal deaths and cultural practices like infanticide

Samuel Tanko, another missionary who oversees a medical facility donated to the community by a faith-based NGO, explained that the services were limited due to a shortage of staff, with only two trainees assisting him. He emphasised that there were no fixed working hours, as villagers sought help at any time. 

He explained that, in addition to overseeing delivery cases, they also handle various other health issues within the community. However, when the medical needs surpass their capacity, they refer patients to more equipped medical facilities for further treatment.

This arrangement, while essential, highlights the limitations of their small clinic and the ongoing struggle to provide comprehensive healthcare in the remote area.

“The hospital has been able to serve the community and the surrounding environment. During the outbreak of cholera, we were able to curtail cases, measles cases, and cases of delivery, to the best of our knowledge. Where we have difficulty, we referred patients to the nearby hospital for emergency. 

He explained that the facility is in a dilapidated state, though a portion of it had been recently renovated. However, he emphasised that a major challenge they face is a lack of funding, which hampers their ability to improve and expand the services they provide to the community.

Efforts to speak with the Agoma of Kaida, Musa Lakai the traditional leader of the community were unsuccessful, as he was unavailable during the reporter’s visit.

Instead of blaming the community, Olushola says they encourage them to witness the transformation of the children they once feared. By seeing these children healthy, happy, and excelling in school, community members begin to question their previous beliefs.

He said the approach has led to a shift in perception, with some families realising their abandoned children were never cursed. Many have chosen to take them back.

So far, the foundation has successfully reunited 31 children with their families, giving them a second chance at life.

Rescuing these children is a race against time. Many are abandoned immediately after birth, left without food or water for days.

Olushola recounts how they sometimes receive distress calls about newborns who have been left unfed for days. In some cases, by the time the foundation arrived, the baby’s condition is already critical.

Some children are willingly surrendered by their families. Some parents, believing they cannot care for the child, brought them directly to the foundation in the hope of finding an alternative solution.

Providing urgent medical care is often the first step. Many of the infants arrive severely malnourished, dehydrated, or with infections. Once they regain their health, they are integrated into the orphanage, where they receive education and care.

Unlike traditional orphanages, the foundation does not arrange adoptions. Olushola emphasises that their mission is not to place children with new families but to reunite them with their biological families once harmful beliefs and stigmas have been addressed.

The fight against infanticide is far from over. Though organisations like Vine Heritage Home Foundation continue to rescue children, the root causes are cultural beliefs and lack of healthcare.

For now, the orphanage remains a sanctuary for those lucky enough to be rescued. With 212 children currently under their care, the organisation continues its mission to prove that no child was born evil.