Palma Local Police have arrested a 38-year-old Nigerian woman accused of leaving her three young children - aged 2, 4 and 6 - alone at home to go to a party. The suspect’s husband, with whom she does not have a good relationship, observed what was happening through the home’s security cameras and, after trying unsuccessfully to contact her, alerted a neighbour, who called 092.
The mother is accused of a crime of child abandonment. When questioned by the police about what had happened, she replied that ‘in Nigeria, children are left alone at the age of 6’. According to sources close to the case, the events took place last Sunday afternoon in the Son Gotleu neighbourhood. At around 7.30 pm, the woman decided that the children could be left alone at home.
She had an event at a friend’s house that she could not miss. The husband used his mobile phone to check the CCTV cameras and saw that the children were not with their mother. He called her repeatedly but got no answer. Faced with this situation, he decided to contact a neighbour.
The neighbour alerted the local police, who sent a patrol to the scene. The eldest of the three siblings opened the door. Everyone was fine. After several attempts, and a few hours later, the suspect finally answered her mobile phone and, on the orders of the officers, went to the house.
There she was arrested for child abandonment. Both the detainee and the report were transferred to the National Police. The Family and Women’s Care Unit (UFAM) has taken charge of the investigation.