Olabisi Abubakar was “unbalanced” by the lockdown and believed that if she and her son Taiwo fasted, they would stop the spread of the disease. A ‘deeply religious mother who starved her three-year-old son to save the world from Covid has been detained in the hospital because she is a serious risk to the public.
The mother and son went without food for four months before Abubakar was found in an emaciated state on a sofa bed next to the body of Taiwo, who weighed just 9.8kg. Abubakar, a mother of five, a Nigerian asylum seeker, and a devout Pentecostal Christian, was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter by insanity. She was also acquitted of two counts of child cruelty.
Before Covid, Abubakar was a ‘good and devoted mother’ and neighbors commented on the smell of appetizing food wafting from her apartment. But Cardiff Crown Court heard that she was stressed about her immigration status and worried about the growing pandemic. She and Taiwo, a “happy and healthy boy”, began fasting in the hope that they would stop the spread of the virus and were rarely seen at her home in Cathays, Cardiff.
Olabisi Abubakar Age
Olabisi Abubakar is 42 years old.
Olabisi Abubakar fasting death son given hospital order
Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC said: “A friend called the police at the address and became concerned for her well-being.” Heywood said the Nigerian-born Abubakar was “lying on a sofa bed, she was remarkably thin, malnourished, and dehydrated.”
He said Taiwo was “emaciated and cold to the touch” adding: “It was clear Taiwo had been dead for some time.” Mr. Heywood said the windows were closed in the apartment and there was “a pungent smell of decay and feces, it was dirty and there were dirty nappies lying around“.
Mr. Heywood said Abubakar had “deliberately neglected” Taiwo by “failing to provide her with food and water to join her in fasting as a religious act”. When the police found them, Abubakar could be heard shouting: ‘he is dead, he is dead, he is dead’. Taiwo weighed just 21 pounds, 10 pounds less than the average three-year-old, when he was found on June 29, 2020. A postmortem examination found that he had died sometime earlier from malnutrition and dehydration.
Delirious Abubakar was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and she believed that the singing angels had brought her back to life. Abubakar, also known as Shola Phillips, came to the UK as an asylum seeker in 2011 and spent time living in London before being housed in Cardiff in 2017.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr. Tom Wynne told the hearing: “She suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and still displays some symptoms of delusional beliefs.” He had told the trial that when he examined Abubakar, she “did not feel responsible for the death” and “denied trying to harm” Taiwo, adding that she told him: “God had taken Taiwo.”
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Judge Mrs. Justice Jefford told him: ‘As part of your religious beliefs, you would fast as a means of concentrating on God and prayer. ‘There was also stress in your life, you were worried about your immigration status and you felt that no one, not even God, was helping you.
“You were particularly worried and scared about Covid; all of these things contributed to your developing serious mental illness. “Your paranoid beliefs interacted with your religious beliefs and you started fasting more and more.”
The judge said his motives for fasting were “well-intentioned” but went against church teaching and had devastating results. She said: ‘You thought it would bring God’s blessings and protection to you, your children and the nation at this difficult time.’
“The medical evidence is that you fasted to the extreme for three or four months, you were extremely malnourished and dehydrated. The police officer who entered your apartment recorded what he saw and no one could not help but be moved by the conditions in which you found yourself.
“You had also involved your son in a fast that your church teaches you should never do, with tragic consequences.” After hearing from two medical experts, the judge imposed an order under Sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act that Abubakar should be detained at the hospital where she is receiving treatment.
The judge also imposed a restraining order due to a “high risk of serious harm to the public” if she was allowed into the community. Abubakar, wearing a gray hoodie, appeared via video link from the Caswell Clinic in Bridgend and showed no emotion as she was sentenced.
After the manslaughter trial, Taiwo’s father issued a statement. He said: ‘Taiwo was an amazing boy. He was a joy to behold. ‘The first time I saw Taiwo he gave me so much joy, I felt fulfilled. I wish Taiwo was still with us, but I want to remember him as the happy, talkative boy he was.’ Detective Sergeant John Harris of South Wales Police said: “This was a complex and tragic case.” Our thoughts are with Taiwo and all those who knew and loved him.’
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