Nigerian nurse living in UK jailed for three years for child neglect after trying to escape

A Nigerian nurse living in the United Kingdom (UK), Ruth Auta, has been sentenced to three years in prison for child neglect following the tragic death of her 10-week-old son, Joshua Akerele.

The 28-year-old single mother was found guilty of leaving her baby unattended in her nursing accommodation for eight hours while she worked at Royal Bolton Hospital in England.

According to reports, Auta returned home to find Joshua unconscious in his bed on December 20, 2022. Despite attempts to revive him, the baby was pronounced dead an hour after paramedics arrived. Tests showed that Joshua may have overheated due to his heavy clothing and being covered with a thick blanket.

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Auta was charged with child cruelty and pleaded guilty at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 24 May 2024. However, his initial claim that he had collected Joshua from the childminder and found him unconscious after falling asleep was contradicted by CCTV footage and text messages.

The investigation revealed that Auta had left her residence without her child and had instructed the nanny to falsely claim that she had been looking after Joshua that day. In a shocking turn of events, Auta attempted to flee the country in June 2024 but was arrested at Gatwick Airport with a one-way ticket to Nigeria.

District Attorney Sara Davie delivered the verdict, saying, “As a nurse, Ruth Auta should have recognized the dangers of leaving her child unsupervised. Her failure to provide necessary care and her attempts to evade justice demonstrate a lack of remorse.”

UK-based Nigerian nurse jailed for three years for child neglect after trying to escape first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.