Relationship therapist Blessing CEO has spoken about her five-month stay in prison, the loss of her nine-year-old son and how both experiences affected her faith.
According to Blessing, people had often told her while she was growing up that she would one day go into ministry, but she never paid much attention to it.
She recalled how she prayed constantly while in EFCC custody, hoping things would turn out differently. When they did not, she said she eventually became upset with God and stopped praying for a while because she felt her prayers had gone unanswered.
“I told God that His will should be done. At a time, I was upset with God. I refused to pray. I believed He ignored me while I was in there,” she said.
Blessing also spoke about the efforts her mother and loved ones made to secure her release. She recalled telling her mother that she was uncertain about her future, only for her mother to reassure her that she would do everything within her power to get her out.
In a post she shared, she said:
“I told my mum that I didn’t know my fate, and she said to me, ‘Nkiruka, as long as it is something money can do, I don’t mind selling everything I have to get you out of this.”
She said her mother borrowed money, while family members and friends worked tirelessly to meet the conditions for her release.
Blessing explained that she had three cases involving the EFCC, with different judges handling the matters. She mentioned sums of ₦36 million, ₦69 million and ₦150 million, adding that she paid ₦6 million in connection with one of the cases. She also referred to another case involving cancer.
Even after the conditions for her release had been met, she said she remained in custody because of delays. She spent five months in prison, despite her family’s efforts to secure her freedom.
During that period, she said, she learnt patience and found comfort in the prayers of fellow inmates who hoped she would soon be released.
However, coming out of prison did not bring the happiness she might have expected. Blessing said she returned to a painful reality: the loss of her son, something she could never undo.
“I didn’t come out to the best of news. I didn’t come out excited because I lost something I couldn’t get back. I came out knowing that wherever my son is, he wants to be proud of his mother”, she said.
She described her son as a peaceful, kind and selfless child who, despite being just nine years old, often spoke with a maturity beyond his age.
Blessing recalled that her son had once dreamt about his own death and told his brother, Darell, her sister and her father about it. According to her, her sister prayed for him, but he never mentioned the dream to her.
After his death, she found herself thinking back on those conversations and wondering about the things she might have missed.
Her son had chronic asthma and was very active, which meant frequent hospital visits from the time he was born. Blessing said she later learnt that while she was in custody, he had been using two inhalers.
She also admitted that she had spent time asking herself whether there was anything she could have done differently. Her mother, she said, did everything she could, while her son reportedly passed away at about 6:30 a.m. on a Monday in the hospital.
Coming to terms with the loss has not been easy, but Blessing said she has had to forgive herself and find a way to move forward.
“I had to forgive myself, and I have decided to bribe God, and I know He’ll help me pass this phase of my life”, she stated.
She also spoke about returning to her faith and beginning a new chapter centred on Jesus Christ, inviting people to follow her on the journey.
“Come on this journey with me. The journey of Jesus Christ. It’s going to be loud, very loud”, she added.
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