Cardiff Mother Detained After Son Dies in Tragic Fasting Case
A shocking case out of Cardiff has left the nation stunned. Olabisi Abubakar, 42, has been detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act after being found not guilty of manslaughter and neglect of her three-year-old son by reason of insanity.
Fasting to ‘Save the Nation’
Cardiff Crown Court heard Abubakar fasted her son, Taiwo, to death during the COVID-19 lockdown. She believed the fast would protect the country from the virus. When police forced entry into their Cathays flat in June 2020, Abubakar was found severely dehydrated and thin, sitting next to her son’s lifeless body. The court revealed they had been fasting for three to four months.
Devout Beliefs and Mental Health Struggles
Taiwo, who weighed only 22 pounds at the time of death, died from severe malnutrition and dehydration, according to the post-mortem. Abubakar, a Nigerian asylum seeker who arrived in the UK in 2011, suffered from paranoid delusions linked to paranoid schizophrenia. As a devout Pentecostal Christian, she had fasted for years, believing God would shield the UK from COVID-19.
Judge Condemns Tragic Fallout from Serious Illness
“The jury found you not guilty of all these charges by reason of insanity,” said Mrs Justice Jefford. “At the time, you had a serious mental illness, paranoid schizophrenia, and did not know what you were doing.”
She described the case as “extremely sad,” noting that pandemic fears, neighbour disputes, financial worries, and immigration issues worsened Abubakar’s mental state.
“What happened to you and your children is the heartbreaking outcome of that illness. You had been a good and caring mother. Your children were happy, loved, and well cared for,” the judge added.
