Nigerian nurse jailed in UK for leaving 10-week-old son to die

Ruth Auta, a Nigerian working as a nurse in the United Kingdom (UK), has been sentenced to three years in prison over the death of her 10-week-old son, Joshua Akerele.

Auta was sentenced by a Bolton Crown court in the UK after she was found guilty of leaving the baby (without anyone watching over the child) in her nurse’s accommodation at Royal Bolton Hospital for eight hours on December 20, 2022, to complete her shift.

She called an ambulance at 15:24 pm, reporting her son was not breathing.

He was pronounced dead at 16:40 pm, despite attempts to resuscitate him.

Auta had initially told officers from Greater Manchester police she had collected Joshua from a childminder after she had finished work on December 20.

The single mother claimed she had fallen asleep next to him and found him unresponsive when she woke up.

However, CCTV footage obtained by police showed Auta leaving her flat without Joshua at 06:47 and returning home alone at 15:13.

Messages found on Auta’s phone showed she had asked the childminder to tell the police she had looked after Joshua that day, but the nanny told officers she had not seen the baby for a few days.

Auta was charged with cruelty to a child and pleaded guilty at a hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 24 May.

The case was adjourned to June 21 for sentence, but Auta was arrested at Gatwick Airport on 6 June after trying to board a flight to Nigeria on a one-way ticket.

Sara Davie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Whilst she went to work to provide care for other people, Ruth Auta left the very person who needed her care the most home alone.”

Although no conclusive cause of death could be given for Joshua, the court heard he may have overheated due to the layers of clothing and bedding he was wrapped in.

Davie said that, as a nurse, Auta should have known the dangers of leaving her baby unattended and “must now live with the consequences of the terrible decision she made that day”.

“Our thoughts and sympathies are with all those who have been affected by Joshua’s death,” Davie added.