The mother of a teenager who claims he was forced to undergo exorcism to purge him of his disobedience has been jailed.
Lydia Erhire has become the first person in the UK to be jailed under forced marriage laws after Edirin Onogeta-Idogun, 17, was sent to Nigeria on holiday and is still there.
He claims he has been subjected to beatings and religious-style ceremonies in the African country to get rid of his behaviour which his mother did not approve of.
Erhire is a devout Christian who had tried to instil a strong sense of discipline in her child and does not approve of his lifestyle, the court heard.
The 17-year-old is still being held against his will – and it is unclear exactly where he is, the High Court in London was told.
His mother was ordered to have her son brought back to Britain but she obstructed efforts and was jailed for eight months yesterday.
Edirin had flown out to Nigeria, where his father John Idogun is a special adviser to the governor of the Delta State, in July.
The teenager, from Newham, east London, was expected back in August to start a college course in Hackney.
He had been given a protection order under forced marriage laws by a judge last year and provided with emergency accommodation before he disappeared.
Mrs Justice Macur said: 'Edirin told his litigation team he had been forced or subjected to procedures which were meant to exorcise him from his disobedience to the will of his parents and to remove him from what they regarded as unsatisfactory friendships.'
In November, after a hearing before another judge, Mrs Erhire signed a letter instructing her sister to facilitate the return of Edirin from his Nigerian boarding school.
TIMELINE
* July 8, 2010 - Forced Marriage Protection Order issued as Lydia Erhire fears he is going to be sent to Nigeria for an arranged wedding
* July 16 - Teenager is sent on holiday to Nigeria
* August - he fails to return to London where he is due to start college
* February 14, 2011 - his mother is jailed after being found guilty of contempt of court
But it later emerged that she had immediately sent another letter countermanding the demand.
In February, Edirin attempted to leave Nigeria but was intercepted by immigration officials and taken off his British Airways flight from Lagos.
Mrs Justice Macur ruled Mrs Erhire was not responsible for the February incident but had found she was complicit in November in ‘thwarting’ the court's efforts to have Edirin returned.
Members of the Urhobo tribe appeared before the court and said that his mother was concerned he would become involved in gangs.
The teenager was issued with a Forced Marriage Protection Order last July because he feared he was going to be sent to Nigeria for an arranged wedding.
Jailing the mother for contempt of court, the judge said: ‘I am not satisfied that she is truly remorseful for the imperilment of Edirin's welfare.
‘I am not satisfied that she has shown any indication of a willingness to co-operate on anything but her own terms.
‘The chronology has shown beyond peradventure that this woman only co-operates in the face of a prison sentence and then begrudgingly.’
She ordered that Mrs Erhire should be committed to Holloway Prison immediately for eight months, but said she would have the opportunity to apply to purge her contempt.
The student, who was due to study business and media after finishing his A-levels, came to Britain with his mother in 2004 and had settled in Newham.
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