When
Iyoha Enahoro sought to help a mentally ill man, he never envisaged
that his actions may turn out to be a burden on himself and family.
The cleric has said that family members of a mental patient, John Kakaviya, have playfamily-abandons-mental-patient-in-church-after-deliverance/”>abandoned him after a deliverance prayer session.
Enahoro is trying to get the family members of the 35-year-old
to take him for medical help instead. He had tried praying the demon out
of the man but to no avail.
“I had been seeing the man at the Ketu bus stop and I discovered that
he had a mental problem. I sometimes gave him food and money but on
July 1, 2015, I left my house at Ikorodu with some clothes which I
intended to give him.
“When I saw him, I decided to also pray for him and after the
prayers, I discovered he became calm. I took him to a medical centre
where he was given treatment and he later slept. I could not take him
directly to a psychiatric hospital because of lack of funds, so I took
him home.”
He then contacted the patient’s family members and they were able to
identify him but he wasn’t able to convince them to take him back.
“God used me to pray for him, but then, doctors also have a role to
play for him to be mentally stable. His family members have been making
all kinds of excuses and saying they do not have money with which to
take him to a psychiatric hospital.
I have been wondering if they have abandoned him and want me to
continue to look after him. It is becoming unbearable for me. I have my
own family and children that I have to take care of. I think the man
needs urgent medical attention,” he added.
Enahoro claims he has been taking care of mental patients since
1991 and promises that this isn’t a means to profit from his
alms-giving.
The patient’s sister, Rita, however, said the family didn’t abandon him but had financial challenges.
Describing the victim as a brilliant young man whose dreams were
shattered by a strange illness, Rita said after getting the news that
John had become calm after Enahoro prayed for him, the family rushed
there and saw his health condition had improved.
She said: “John’s mental problem started about 13 years ago shortly
after he finished secondary school and was preparing for his entrance
examination into the university.
“We were living together at the time. I just discovered that he would
not sleep at night and started misbehaving. Later, the problem worsened
and he left the house and took to the streets.
“Our parents are dead. I am married, but jobless and my sister, who
could have assisted, is a widow. She is struggling with her business.”