Police detain 2 pastors over missing ‘mad’ lady

Two men the police described as pastors, Young Uche and another simply called Segun, are being detained at the Igando police station over the disappearance of a woman, Joy Ogbeh, said to be mentally-challenged. Uche and Segun were arrested following a complaint by the victim’s mother, Phoebe Ogbeh, to the police that her daughter she […]

Two men the police described as pastors, Young Uche and another simply called Segun, are being detained at the Igando police station over the disappearance of a woman, Joy Ogbeh, said to be mentally-challenged.
Uche and Segun were arrested following a complaint by the victim’s mother, Phoebe Ogbeh, to the police that her daughter she had placed in the custody of the pastors for “deliverance” had disappeared.
Madam Ogbeh told the police she had, in July this year, taken Joy to Pastor Uche who promised her he would deliver her daughter from suspected mental illness with the assistance of a fellow pastor friend.
The petitioner said she thereafter left for Abuja from where she was sending money to Uche for her daughter’s upkeep.
A few weeks after her return, she added, she was told her daughter had left the pastor’s custody unaccompanied.
“Since then, all efforts at making the pastor tell me my daughter’s whereabouts have been futile,” she said.
However, Pastor Uche’s wife, Nkiruka, argued her husband and his friend were innocent. She told our correspondent, “Mama Phoebe resides around our area. Sometimes ago, she visited our church asking for prayers for a family problem. She later brought Joy, her mad daughter, for deliverance.
“She appealed to us to allow Joy stay in the church for three months, pending when she would return from her Abuja trip. We did not charge her any money but she was sending to us N15,000 every month for Joy’s feeding and upkeep.
“She asked us to allow Joy go for visits to her relatives. Sometimes, Joy would go and not come back for days. When we complained, Mama Phoebe asked us not to worry as Joy was used to going out without coming back for days.
“The last time Joy disappeared, Mama Phoebe spoke to her through Mama Oge’s phone and they argued about the issue of sending her back to their town in Isele-Ukwu, Delta State. Immediately after the call, Joy left the house, saying she was visiting her sisters, Ngozi and Virgi, but she never came back.”
Nkiruka said when she and her husband became worried about Joy’s non-return, Virgi calmed them down with words that her own prophet had told them Joy was safe and would soon be back.
“We were surprised when Mama Phoebe and one of her daughters, Franka, came to the church with policemen to arrest my husband and Pastor Segun, alleging that they have used Joy for rituals,” she said.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Chike Oti, said investigation was ongoing.