A 42-year-old UK based Nigerian woman, Olabisi Abubakar, has been arrested and charged on two counts of manslaughter and child cruelty after her three-year old-son died as a result religious fasting.
Abubakar was arrested on June 29, 2020 for allegedly killing her son, Taiwo Abubakar, 3, through starvation, she had told the police that “she had locked herself away” during the COVID-19 pandemic era, Mail Online reports.
Prosecutors told the Crown Court of Cardiff that the police had to forcefully gain entrance into Abubakar’s residence in the Cathays area, stated that she was thin, malnourished and dehydrated when she was found. At the time, she was said to have placed her baby by her side on a sofa bed.
During the proceeding, a pathologist made it known that Taiwo had died from malnutrition and dehydration.
The police also informed the court that the woman had been detained in a hospital where she was receiving medical treatment for paranoid schizophrenia.
The Nigerian was said to be fasting as part of her faith as a pentecostal christain.
Prosecutors were also able to establish that she caused her young son to fast, depriving him of both food and water, due to fears of the coronavirus pandemic and personal pressures.
Abubakar, however, repeatedly denied the allegation, saying that children should not be made to fast until they turn 12.
Abubakar was said to have told the police that she had fallen asleep on June 26, with the belief she was in heaven before she was brought back to life when they arrived in the company of her neighbour.
“Olabisi Abubakar said she couldn’t explain what happened to her. She was asleep on the bed and that is what she remembered last. She said she believed she was being punished by God,” said Peter Donnison, the prosecuting lawyer.
Abubakar reportedly said that “she saw herself among the dead in heaven”, and that “she later saw the angels of God and they brought her back to life”.
Abubakar, who was said to have been born in Lagos State, relocated to the United Kingdom in 2011.
If the court finds that she was mentally ill at the time, she could be freed and allowed to go home upon the conclusion of the case.