The family of a 28-year-old woman, Vivian Ndukwu, has demanded that the marriage rites of their late daughter must be performed by a pastor of the Christ Embassy, who has been accused of being responsible for the pregnancy that allegedly led to her death.
It was gathered that the 29-year-old pastor, identified
simply as Hillary, was being detained at the State Criminal Investigations
Department, Yaba, Lagos.
He was accused by the family to have had a secret romantic
relationship with the deceased, who was a choir member in the church.
It was said that in order to avoid scandals, the couple
decided to keep the relationship a secret. The secret romance continued until
Vivian became pregnant.
When it became obvious that they could no longer keep the
pregnancy a secret, Vivian was said to have agreed with Hillary that she should
relocate to Agbara town in Ogun State to stay with a woman who had an
orphanage.
Vivian allegedly told her parents that she was going to
Abuja. She stayed at the orphanage until she was delivered of a baby girl on
May 3, 2014.
It was learnt that eight days after the delivery of the
baby, Vivian was taken to a hospital after she complained of fever and
headache.
She eventually died, while her remains had been taken to the
Badagry General Hospital morgue.
The owner of the orphanage, Mrs. Grace Kato, however,
claimed that Vivian never stayed at her place.
She said, “Vivian called me three days after the birth of her
baby. She said she wanted me to help her with the hospital bills, that she was
stranded in the hospital. Out of compassion, I went to the hospital to help.”
She admitted that she took Vivian home after delivery to
rest at her place for two days before returning to her parents.
She added that Vivian, however, ended up staying at her
place for five days before she died.
She said, “I brought her to my house to rest for a day or
two before taking her to her parents. In the process, I had to travel for my uncle’s
burial. That was why she stayed that long because she was waiting for me to
return. I came back on Saturday night, May 10, and the next day, she complained
of a slight headache and we took her to another hospital nearby. That was where
she died.”
The hospital where Vivian was said to have died, claimed
that she was rushed to the hospital unstable and restless.
According to a doctor in the hospital, the people on duty
stabilised her condition and referred her to a general hospital.
The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, “She
was brought in on May 11, at about 1.20pm, unstable and restless. The story was
that her complaint started that morning. Her blood pressure was also high.
Being that we were not in possession of her past medical records, we acted
based on clinical situation and referred her to a general hospital.
“The people that brought her left and so there was no one to
take her to where she had been referred to hours after stabilising her
condition. Several calls to the number they gave us were replied with one story
or the other. At some point, the lady started gasping, and eventually died. It
was not until the following day that they came to pick up her remains.”
The father of the deceased, Emmanuel Ndukwu, told our
correspondent on the telephone that the orphanage founder had agreed with her
late daughter to take custody of the child after delivery without the consent
of the family.
He said he and his wife knew nothing about the pregnancy,
adding that his daughter left his house and told the family that she was going
to Abuja.
He said, “After telling us that she was going to Abuja, we
did not hear from her until her death. But we later learnt that Grace
(orphanage owner) and her husband had organised a naming ceremony for the new
baby without informing us.
Emmanuel said he was not aware of the relationship between
the pastor and his daughter until the sad incident.
He said, “My family and the pastor’s family have met and we
agreed that Hillary will perform all the marriage rites for my late daughter
according to the tradition of our people. We are doing this because a child is
involved. The pastor did not deny his responsibility, so the normal thing must
be done.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide,
confirmed Vivian’s death and added that the matter was still under
investigation.
She said, “The matter is under investigation at the Homicide
Section of the SCID. The police is not aware of any negotiation between the two
families.”
Source: Punch
Source: Punch
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