Napier Marten, the father of runaway aristocrat Constance Marten, has called for police to investigate the time that his daughter spent in a church cult in Nigeria.

Ms Marten has been missing with her rapist partner Mark Gordon and their newborn child since January 5.

Here is his statement in full:

“I remain deeply concerned for Constance, some five weeks after she and her baby went on the run. I just want them to be safe. I urge Constance once more, to find the courage to turn herself into the police.

“Following the latest revelation in The Independent about how Constance was influenced by a Nigerian cult leader and suffered severely as a result, I am compelled to say that this substantiates long-held suspicions had since she returned from Lagos. Constance’s time there at the hands of the so-called Rev. TB Joshua was bizarre and damaging in the extreme. I am appalled that she should have been there for five, maybe six months when there were opportunities for her to have escaped.

“The stories of the abuse meted out by Joshua are shocking and heart-rending. I sincerely hope the police can now investigate potential links between any institution involved in making Constance and others suffer at the hands of the phoney prophet in his Lagos Synagogue.

“These experiences appear to have been a trigger in so much of what has happened to harm Constance in recent years, setting up a pattern of behaviour exposing her to easy manipulation. I cannot begin to comprehend the trauma to which Constance and others have been subjected. My heart goes out to her and them.

“I am grateful to the police for their continued efforts to locate Constance and her baby, and for following all avenues of inquiry.  The only urgency is to know she and the baby are safe.I have been so touched by the hundreds of messages of support and want to thank everyone for their great kindness.”