Pastor in trouble over missing mental patient

The pastor of a church in Yaba, Lagos State,
Samuel Awolusi, has been tagged by the
police as the main suspect for the sudden
disappearance of a mentally challenged
patient, Sunday Ayeni, who was taken to
his church for prayers.

Awolusi was detained for 10 days before
being released on bail on the condition he
would produce the missing 32-year-old.
Awolusi, who heads Eternal Rock of Ages
Church, Iwaya, was said to have brought
Sunday to Lagos from Ile-Ife, Osun State,
on January 14, 2013, promising to help
cure his mental problem through special
prayers.

Barely a week after, however, Sunday was
said to have disappeared and had not been
found.
The father of the missing man, Mr. Dele
Ayeni, told PUNCH Metro that the pastor
knew his son's whereabouts.
He said, "My son has been sick since 1999.
He is my first child and was in the School of
Science,
Ile-Ife, before his illness. My
findings showed that some evil people
who saw his bright future plagued him
with the sickness.

"After spending over N2m moving him
from different prayer houses and
psychiatric hospitals, I decided to keep him
in the house.
"Pastor Awolusi told us he could help us
and we decided to release the boy to him
on January 14, 2013.

"Just about a week after, he said my son
was missing and we have been wondering
where he kept our son."
The health worker retiree, who spoke with
our correspondent on the telephone from
his home in Ile-Ife, Osun State, alleged that
his son was neither fed nor chained down,
but was left in the care of a pregnant
woman on the day he was declared
missing.

Sunday's mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Ayeni,
insisted that the pastor could not claim
innocence.
Elizabeth, a teacher, who said she was in a
church on a three-day fasting programme
for her child said, "Awolusi left my son at
the church without proper monitoring.

Sunday was still very ill and there had not
been any sign of improvement as he
claimed. He must produce our child."
Our correspondent learnt that after
Sunday's parents visited Lagos many times
to join in the search for their son without
success, they involved the police, that
arrested the pastor.

Awolusi told our correspondent that he
had been under pressure to produce
Sunday since he was released on bail in
June.
He said he had offered to help the Ayenis,
and had not demanded any money,
because Sunday was his nephew.

He said, "I was merely trying to help them.
For the days the boy was with me, I had
not only given him spiritual help, I had also
taken him to the Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba.

"We were given appointment to come back
in January 28, 2013.
"But before that day, I went to work and
left Sunday in the care of a neighbour.

"It was the woman who informed me that
the boy said he was going out to buy
something, and had not returned home
since then."
Awolusi said he had reported the matter at
the Sabo and Alakara police stations in
Lagos before the victim's parents decided
to bring policemen from Osun State to
arrest him.
"I was released because after the police
investigated and searched my house, they
saw I have done nothing with him. But the
parents kept saying I used their son for
ritual, which is not true," he said.
The Police Pubilc Relations Officer for the
Lagos State command, Ngosi Braide,
confrimed the incident.
She added, "After the pastor was arrested
by policemen from Osun State Command,
we left the matter to them (Osun)

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