Mrs. Florence Omotehinwa, has reportedly dragged her daughter Mrs. Toyin Ndiomu, to a psychiatric hospital for attending “an unconventional” church.
The 40-year-old victim who attends Jordan Ministries, Opebi, Lagos, was abducted on January 12, 2013, at 25 Joel Ogunnaike Street, while she was celebrating her 40th birthday.
It was gathered that Toyin, a mother of two, has been separated from her husband because of domestic violence.
According to Mr. Benjamin Odeh,a legal consultant with Project Alert on Violence against Women, on the day the victim was abducted, her mother stormed her party with naval operatives and policemen.
He said, “On that day, Mrs. Omotehinwa and Ndiomu’s estranged husband came with two women, naval personnel and two armed policemen. They seized the victim, pushed her into a vehicle and sped off.”
He said the victim was taken to Farri Psychiatric Hospital, and has been in isolation since then.
However, in an interview with The Punch, Mrs. Omotehinwa disclosed why she forcefully took her daughter to a psychiatric hospital.
She alleged that her daughter who had no history of mental illness had been brainwashed by the church. She further added that the church is an “occultic church”.
Omotehinwa refuted claims that her daughter left her husband because of domestic violence. She alleged that it was the General Overseer of the church, Chigbo Ndukwe that made her daughter to leave her husband.
“Since my daughter started attending that church, her life has not been the same. She is now distant from the entire family to the extent that she now addresses me as Mrs. Omotehinwa, not mummy.
“That church is a cult, they hold their services at 6am on Saturday and they kiss their pastor on his hands and feet to greet him. Almost all the women there are divorced. They even changed my daughter’s name to Ifeanyichukwu Ndwukwe
“As her mother, I have done nothing wrong by bringing her to this hospital because I have her best interest at heart. She is the second of my four children and I raised all of them singlehanded after their father, a Rear Admiral, was killed 17 years ago” she said.
A copy of the victim’s case file reads in part that she suffers from “Delusional thinking, schizophrenia and she exhibits paranoia towards members of her kith and kin.”
Pastor Ndukwe while speaking on the incident alleged that Ndiomu was a victim of domestic violence, adding that her husband and the family took the step because he (Ndukwe) did not encourage her to go and reconcile with her husband.
He said, “A 40-year-old woman should be able to choose where she wants to worship. The main issue is that Ndiomu’s mother wants her to remain with her husband because this is Toyin’s second marriage. They wanted me to encourage her to go back to her husband but I did not because God did not instruct me to do that.
“The family claims she is brainwashed and yet she runs a successful business. The mother has deliberately prevented anyone from seeing her because she knows there is nothing wrong with her.”
Ndukwe said the allegation that his church was occult was an attempt to smear his image.
He said, “I hold services on Saturday so that members can go to their respective churches on Sunday. My sermons are on CD free of charge and anyone is free to come and attend any of our services if they have doubts.”