fact that a woman was delivered of a live turtle and a padlock
in the presence of thousands of worshippers during a church
service in a Lagos church.
Time was 5am on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 during the
Rhema water programme organised by the Elijah Faith
Assembly Church, Ajao Estate, Lagos. The incident took many,
including the church’s Overseer, Prophet Chinonso Favour
Aniebo by surprise. Many took to their heels as a result of
fear and the irritation of seeing a pool of blood that gushed
out of the private part of the woman, Mrs Cassandra Amaka
Obi, before the turtle eventually came out.
After the incident, the 22-year-old Cassandra from Ihiala, in
Anambra State, lay flat on the floor of the church, while
deliverance prayers were going on to resuscitate her, after
some hours of going into coma. The story of Cassandra, who
is nursing a six-month-old baby girl, who she took to the
church that fateful day, will arouse fears and probably
sympathy in any human.
She told Saturday Sun that her problems started when she
was a little girl under her parents in their Umuabanike village,
Ihiala. According to her, her father, who is a strong and known
native doctor in the area, initiated her into the occult through
his shrine when she was seven years old and started using her
to execute his job.
“When I was nine, my father invoked both the key and the
turtle in my body, so that I will be strong spiritually to assist
him in his shrine. That time, this turtle was in his barn and
was smaller. I really knew the time he did the whole thing, but
as a child, I did not know the implication. Then, among all the
children my father has, I was the closest to him, so he
decided to use me in his shrine. Sometimes, after preparing
charms, he would send me to go and throw them into the
river or anywhere he wanted me to send it to. And, because
he used to give me some money, I was happy working with
him”, she stated.
Cassandra said she continued working with her father in the
shrine until she clocked the age of 17 when someone came to
ask for her hand in marriage, but her father bluntly refused her
getting married.
Her words: “At 17, I thought I had served my father well and
should, therefore, marry, but surprisingly, my father objected
to that, insisting that I should not get married at all, instead, I
should stay at home and have as many children as I liked, in
order to assist him in his job. But, I refused. After much
pressure, he managed to allow me get married. My husband
fulfilled all the marriage rites and on the day of our wedding,
my father did not come to the church, he only appeared when
we wanted to take photographs and he joined us. Could you
believe that immediately we finished taking a photograph with
my father, I did not get myself again, I lost my memory, pulled
my wedding ring and threw it to my husband and told him
that the marriage was over. I ran away and they caught me.
In fact, our guests and everyone present were surprised. Even
when they managed to take me to my father’s house, I want
ed to jump the fence. It was when my father brought kola
nuts and prayed that I regained my senses and followed my
husband that I was able to calm down.”
That could be said to be the beginning of Cassandra’s marital
problems. After about six years of their marriage, she could
not conceive probably due to the padlock, turtle and other
dangerous concoctions her father put in her body. She and her
husband went to so many places in search of solution, and
lots of money, energy and time were wasted, but all were
fruitless.
Meanwhile, as these were going on, Cassandra did not reveal
to her husband what was wrong with her. “Though, I knew
that all the things inside my body were the cause of the
problem we were having in our home, I did not want to tell my
husband because he will be scared and may decide not to
continue with the marriage.”
While the search for solution to their problem continued, their
neighbour introduced them to the Elijah Faith Assembly
Church in 2013 where they received prayers and deliverance.
Shortly after, she conceived and had her first baby girl.
“The problem that brought us to Elijah Faith Assembly in
August 2013 was six years of childless marriage. As I came
out in the church that first day to give offering, the prophet
sighted me, and told me to stop making up. Also, when we
went for service the next Sunday, the prophet still told me that
we came to the church because of fruit of the womb. In fact, I
did not take him seriously. When we got home, I thought it
was due to the same headtie I put on that made the prophet
to recognize me as such. So, I decided to change the headtie.
Yet, when we went to service another time, he prophesied that
my problem started from my family, and that my father was
responsible for my problems. He, therefore, asked me to see
him after. But, while coming, I should buy whatever I knew my
father would like and bring them to him. So, I bought wrapper
and drink, and the prophet anointed them and directed me to
send the gifts to my father in the village and return to Lagos
next day.”
Cassandra explained that when she took the gifts to her
father, he prayed for her to give birth to as many children as
she likes. “After that, I returned to Lagos and became
pregnant in September and delivered my first child. Meanwhile,
the objects were still inside my body. But, it was during the
Rhema water programme of the church that I vomited the
padlock, after delivering my first child. Then, I delivered the
turtle, six months after delivering my second child during the
church’s Rhema water programme.”
She said the turtle delivery miracle started when her husband
travelled home recently and visited her father, and he was
given some coconuts by her father’s maid. “Although, when
my husband was travelling,
I warned him not to visit my father because I understand him
well, but he insisted. When he brought the coconut, it did not
occur to me not to eat it. So, I broke one, ate and gave some
to my neighbours. After eating it, I started to experience
severe stomach pains. Later, my stomach began to swell like
a pregnant woman. So, when I could not bear it any longer, I
reported to Prophet Chinonso, he prayed for me and advised
me not to worry about it. But after sometime, I started
bleeding. Then, I attended a Tuesday church programme and
the prophet prayed for me. Then, following day, being
Wednesday, I returned to the church for the Rhema water
programme. And, during deliverance prayer by Prophet
Chinonso, the bleeding became more serious, as if I was in
labour. Meanwhile, before the bleeding, I had contractions and
those sitting close to me became curious and were asking
whether I was pregnant. But I told them that I was not
pregnant, rather I am nursing a six-month-old baby.”
Cassandra stated that when the bleeding was on, the prophet
was busy praying from the altear. So, he sent the Assistant
Pastor, Chukwuma Aniebo to give her Rhema water to drink,
while some was poured on her body. “After drinking the water,
the turtle rushed out with blood from my vagina and I became
relieved immediately.”
She thanked God for the miracle that caused a stir in the
church. “I do not know how to explain this because I have
been in bondage. But now I am free, therefore, I promise to
use everything I have to serve God.”
Her husband, Mr Onyeka Obi also narrated his ordeal
throughout their eight years of marriage. According to him,
“Since the time I married her, it has been from one problem to
the other. Sometimes, she would tell me that she made love
with cat in her dream. And anytime I made love to her, my
business would suffer a misfortune. In fact, it had been spir
itual attacks all along and all the places we went for solution
and spent huge amount of money, did not yield any positive
result until we were introduced to Elijah Faith Assembly
Church. And thank God, all the problems that have been
taking us from one place to the other are now over. We have
two kids, and all the spiritual attacks have stopped.
Meanwhile, I went through hell, trying to find solution to her
problems.”
Prophet Chinonso, who was busy at the altar conducting the
deliverance service when the miracle took place at the nursing
mother’s section of the church, described it as one of the
greatest God has performed through him. “I thank God that He
proved himself in the lives of the couple who have been
suffering from spiritual bondage. In fact, this miracle is hard
to believe. But God did it to uplift his name. We have been
praying that God should perform a miracle that would shake
the world. And we are happy that He has done it.”
One of the Church members, Mrs Chimezie Nwabugo who
witnessed the incident explained that she was the one that
pressed Cassandra’s stomach before the turtle came out.
“I sat close to her in the church. Eventually, she called my
attention to come and press her stomach. Initially, I was
reluctant because I did not know what was happening to her.
But after much pressure, I decided to assist her. When I
pressed her stomach gently, she insisted that I should help
her remove her undies and press her harder. And, when I did,
she told me that the thing was coming out. Then, I wondered
what she meant since she was not pregnant. Thereafter, she
said it has come out. I did not see anything, until when we
pulled her away from the pool of blood where she was lying
and I saw something like a congealed blood that fell off her
cloth. When I looked closely, I noticed that it was a live turtle
covered with blood. Because of that, I ran away and almost
everyone close to the place left in fear. In fact, that experience
was a very strange one and I have not had it before. Since
that time, people on the streets call me midwife that helped a
woman to deliver a turtle, instead of a child, but I do not
bother because God knows why it happened like that” , she
stated.
[Reported By Gilbert Ekezie, Saturday Sun]