A baby belonging to Godwin and Amaka Mark was reported to have died
after its dedication by a pastor who presides over a church at Baruwa
area of Ipaja in Lagos.
According to Lib, the story was reported a witness who insists on the authenticity of the story.
The source said the Pastor (names withheld) dedicated the baby on
June 1 but soon after the blessing, the baby reportedly gave up right
there in church.
Mrs. Mark is said to be pointing accusing fingers at the Pastor who, according to her, had a hand in her baby’s death.
It was an unusual thing to have seen a pastor dedicating a baby
without carrying the baby on his hand. What the Pastor did was to
sprinkle oil and he prayed without even touching the baby. When someone
who was invited by the couple, Godwin and Amaka Mark asked them why the
pastor wasn’t carrying the baby, they stated that it was a norm in that
church for babies to be dedicated in that manner. Soon after the
benediction, the Pastor disappeared from the church and when the parents
of the dead baby realized that their child was no more breathing, they
called the pastor on his mobile phone.
The pastor refused to come back to the church stating that he had
already taken off his clothes. He was further told that the baby which
he had just dedicated was dead and his response was, “it is well”!
The bereaved parents had to go and bury their dead child with the assistance of the invited guests.
The following day, the pastor sent some people to pay a
condolence visit to the bereaved couple. The mother of the deceased
child said that the pastor knows about the death of her child and when
she expressed her displeasure over the Pastor’s actions, the emissary
went back to inform the pastor.
The pastor has threatened to sue Mrs Amaka Mark if she does not retract her statement within 7days.
Mr and Mrs Mark made it very clear to the pastor that they were
ready for any legal tussle with him. Now the pastor has been pleading
with the couple in order not to make it public.
Many are, however, wondering if the baby was given a clean bill of
health by a medical personnel before the church dedication. It will be
interesting to observe how the Mark family hopes to prove the complicity
of the said pastor in the baby’s death.