A chef who belonged to the Jehovah’s Witnesses died after allegedly refusing financial assistance from the Catholic Church.

Ogechukwu Ochiaga had been sick for some time, and her story was shared online last year, with people pleading for donations to help fund her medical treatment.

Bro Can Mbanefo, a Facebook user, was one of those who shared her story, pleading with people to donate whatever they could.

He said in a Facebook post: “Ogechukwu Ochiagha is a good friend of mine. She has neurofibromatosis with spinal tumor. The main surgery at Memfys Hospital is about 4m but she can’t do ft now because of poor health condition and because of money. Now they want to do a minor surgery first at 82 Division military hospital Enugu to drain an abscess and do dressing before discharge to prepare her for the main surgery. And this minor surgery will cost 200k. Good news, the money has been realized through your contributions. Hopefully, the minor surgery will happen today. However, more financial support is still needed for the main surgery. Don’t look at the total figure. Look at the power of contribution and unity. Every Kobo you send to her brings down the total figure. Please send whatever you have directly to her. She hails from Nkanu, Enugu State. She has not been on her feet since February. But together we can make her walk again.”

However, Mbanefo took to Facebook today, January 11, to announce that Ogechukwu had died the day before.

He singled out Jehovah’s Witnesses and blamed their doctrine for her death while announcing her death.

He said in a post, “Is Jehovah Witness a church or a secret cult, I wish to know more about them. #rip_oge.

Mbanefo claimed that after learning of her situation, a Catholic Church in Italy contacted her and offered to pay for her surgery. However, she is said to have refused to accept the funds from the Catholic Church because it is against her Church’s doctrine.

Mbanefo went on to say that she would only accept the money if it came from a personal account rather than the church’s.

The money was then given to other sick people by the church.

He said, “JEHOVAH WITNESS KILLED OGE WITH THEIR BRAINWASHING DOCTRINE & TEACHINGS.

“We lost Ogechukwu Ochiagha yesterday. She will be buried tomorrow.

“First of all, I wish to thank all that sent money to Oge when she was in the hospital. The God you serve will bless you all without looking back and May you never be stranded in life. Amen.

“About six months ago, when Oge’s sickness was not as bad as it was lately, a Catholic community, based in Italy got to know about her sickness and decided to assist. They raise a huge amount of money which could have handled her situation then. But when they contacted Oge to send her account details. Oge told them it was against her Jehovah witness faith to collect money from Catholic Church. Both the priest and the members of the church were so disappointed. And the money was used for other sick people.

“After I made an appeal fund post about her on my wall, a member from the same Catholic Community called me from Italy and told me their ugly experience with Oge. But told me they were still willing to assist if she has changed her mind. I called Oge and she confirmed that truly she rejected their offer. I did my best to convince her to accept the offer from Italy.”