Mum caused death of toddler son Taiwo Abubakar by forcing him to fast, trial told

A mother caused the death of her three-year-old son after starving him of food and water by putting him on a religious fast, a jury has heard.

Taiwo Abubakar was found dead next to his mother, Olabisi Abubakar, 41, when police forced their way into her flat on 29 June 2020.

She is currently on trial charged with manslaughter and child cruelty relating to the death of her son Taiwo Abubakar.

A jury at Cardiff Crown Court heard police were called to Abubakar’s home in the city after a friend raised concerns for her welfare.

The trial heard the defendant was "deeply religious" and would go days without food or water.

She was said to have become concerned about her and her son's safety during the pandemic and wrote notes giving thanks to Jesus and asking God for mercy.

The defendant, also known as Shola Phillips, is originally from Nigeria and came to the UK as an asylum seeker in 2011. The court heard there were no concerns about her and her child and was described as "a good and devoted mother" with "obvious warmth" towards her child by those that knew her.

Prosecuting, Mark Mr Heywood told the jury that fasting was considered "an act of devotion" to God but according to the tenets of Abubakar's religion, children were not required to fast.Abubakar stopped attending church at the beginning of the first coronavirus lockdown in March 2020, and sent a text to a friend which read "By the grace of God we'll survive." She was described as being fearful about the dangers of coronavirus and relied on a friend to do her food shop.

Mark Heywood KC, prosecuting, told the jury: “When the police forced entry into the flat, they found a tragic and distressing scene.

“Olabisi Abubakar was lying on a sofa bed. She was noticeably thin, malnourished and dehydrated.

“Lying beside her was Taiwo. He was severely emaciated and cold to the touch. It was clear that Taiwo had been dead for some time.”

He added, "The prosecution's case is Olabisi Abubakar consciously and deliberately neglected (Taiwo) by depriving him of food and water because of fasting as a religious act.

“Ms Abubakar is a deeply religious Pentecostal Christian, for whom fasting is a tenet of her faith.

“Her religion makes it clear that fasting is an act of devotion, and children – too young to understand this – should not fast.

“The evidence suggests that in 2020, fearful of the coronavirus pandemic and under personal pressure, she caused Taiwo to fast both of food and water along with her.”

Abubakar was taken to hospital, where she was treated for her physical condition but it became apparent that she was also mentally unwell.

She is currently detained in hospital for ongoing treatment and has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, the jury heard.

In early June 2020, Abubakar's friend Mr Obi saw Taiwo for the first time since the lockdown had started – when the child had been fat and healthy – and noticed he was “unhappy and very thin”, Mr Heywood said.

Mr Obi became concerned after not hearing from Abubakar and went to her flat on 29 June , phoning 999 when he could not gain entry.

Taiwo was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination found he weighed just 9.8kg, with no evidence to suggest his death was caused by anything other than malnutrition and dehydration, the prosecution said.

Mr Heywood said it was not disputed that Abubakar had neglected Taiwo but the issue in the case was her state of mind at the time.

Two psychiatrists are due to give evidence that during the time leading up to his death, she was “suffering delusions” brought on by paranoid schizophrenia, he told the jury.

Prosecutors say she remained capable of forming the intent that is a component of the offence of cruelty to a child.

Jurors will have to decide whether Abubakar may have been insane at the time of the alleged offending, which would make her not guilty of the charges against her by reason of insanity.

In police interviews, Abubakar told officers she did not remember anything from falling asleep on June 27 to 29 when the police attended her flat.

“She described this wakening as coming back to life – she believed she had been in heaven because she could see relatives that had died and heard angels singing,” Mr Heywood said.

“She had said she did not want to die, and angels brought her back to life.”

Abubakar told police she mostly fasted during Easter but insisted Taiwo did not fast because he was young, telling officers he was healthy and eating well.

Officers found a notebook in which Abubakar appeared to describe fasting with Taiwo, with one entry reading: “Thank you, Jesus Christ, for this three days fasting for the coronal 19 (sic), for the nation.

“Me and my child thank you Jesus Christ that I and my child can be chosen for this fasting for the nation.”

She later told police that Taiwo had never fasted and she did not understand why she had written that.

Abubakar has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and two counts of child cruelty.

The trial continues.