A 54 year old widow, Mrs. Christiana Yusuf, has called on Lagos State government and human rights organisations to come to the aid of her daughter, Remilekun Yusuf, who she said had mental illness.
Mrs. Yusuf, who resides at 23, Omolayo Street, Ori Okuta, Ikorodu, Lagos, said she had been forced to bear the burden of her ‘mentally ill’ daughter, and Remilekun’s three children, Ayomide(7 ), Rokibat(4 ) and 19 month- old Tobi.
The petty trader said Remilekun had been living with a man (name withheld ), though they were not legally married.
The eight year relationship, according to her, has produced the three children. Trouble started when Remilekun became ‘mentally ill’, she and her children were kicked out of the house by her husband ’s relatives.
Yusuf alleged said Remilekun told her that her husband shaved her head and pubic hair with a blade, after which she started displaying signs of mental illness.
“She would be at a place talking to herself. I took her to the native doctor who confirmed that her hair has been used for spiritual purpose.
“Recently, there was a problem between her husband and the landlord. The landlord fought with him because of the condition of my daughter and how he neglects the children’ s welfare.
After that incident, her husband’s relatives came and threw her and her children out of the house. “I have been made to cope with an ‘insane’ woman and three more children; their feeding and education have been abandoned.
I ’m only a petty trader, that is why I am crying out for help,” the widow said.
The victim, who managed to speak a few words, confirmed that since her husband shaved her hair, she had been hearing strange voices and responding to the voices.
She said: “On one occasion, I had to fight him because he would abandon the family, hungry for over 10 days.
I do not know where he goes. ” The matter, Yusuf said, was reported at Igbogbo Police Station in Ikorodu. But, according to her, the police said they needed evidence to back up the claim that the shaved hair caused Remilekun’s mental illness.
A Good Samaritan, seeing the plight of the children and their mother, had alerted the child welfare agency at Alausa, Ikeja, for urgent assistance and to further investigate the matter