A devout Pentecostal Nigerian woman, Olabisi Abubakar, is being tried at Cardiff Crown Court in the United Kingdom, for allegedly starving her three-year-old son to death’ during a religious fast.
Olabisi Abubakar, 42, is being charged for manslaughter as her malnourished son Taiwo, was found dead at the family home in Cathays, Cardiff.
Abubakar was said to be fasting from food and water to stave off coronavirus and she forced her son to be part of it.
The Police were said to have raided their flat by taking the door off of its hinges and found Taiwo dead on a sofa bed with his 42-year-old mum nearby in June 2020.
The Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC stated: “Police were called to the address by a fried who become concerned for her welfare.”
READ ALSO:Muslim Group Calls For Increase In Number Of Guards For Tinubu
Heywood said Abubakar herself was found was lying in a sofa bed and she was thin as she was malnourished and dehydrated.
He said Taiwo was “emaciated and cold to the touch. “It was clear that Taiwo had been dead for some time,” he said.
According to the prosecutor, the windows were closed in the flat. He said and was a pervading smell of decomposition and faeces. He stated: “It was dirty and soiled nappies were lying around.”
He accused Abubakar of deliberately neglecting to provide food and water for Taiwo who she forced to join her in fasting as a religious act.
He said: “Olabisi Abubakar was a deeply religious Pentecostal Christian for whom fasting is a part of her faith.
“She would carry out her fasts an act of devotion but it was stated that children considered too young should not fast.”
The prosecutor said that when doctors examined Taiwo’s body following his death he weighed just 9.8kg.
He added that a post-mortem examination carried out by pathologist Dr Stephen Leadbeatter found “no evidence other than malnutrition and dehydration” caused his death.
