Tears As Nigerian Man Jumps Into River Over Economic Hardship
The police in Kogi, North Central Nigeria, have confirmed that a yet-to-be-identified man jumped into a river in Lokoja to commit suicide.
SP Williams Ovye-Aya, the spokesperson for the state police command told the News Agency of Nigeria that the tragic incident occurred between 12.30 p.m. and 1 p.m.
Ovye-Aya said that a Divisional Police Officer led a search team to the Meme Bridge on Ganaka-Ajaokuta Road, where the victim was said to have jumped into the river.
“Our men found the man’s slippers but his corpse is not yet visible, which calls for a thorough search for the recovery of his remains.
“As it stands, the man’s identity is not yet known since none of his family members has shown up to lay a complaint.
“We are only working on a report about the incident by some good Samaritans,” the police spokesman said.
He said an account claimed the man left his tricycle on the bridge and jumped into the river while another version of the story claimed he got down from someone else’s tricycle and jumped in.
According to Ovye-Aya, “if the deceased was a tricycle rider, the tricycle would have been seen parked on the bridge”.
He described the incident as “rash”, and that it was important for the police to find the man’s corpse.
He advised residents of the state to refrain from such rash decisions, in spite of the current economic difficulties.
“God can change one’s condition for the better at any time,” the police spokesperson said.
An eyewitness, who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity, said, “I am very surprised that a person can decide to take his own life because of hardship.
“When he jumped into the river, we wanted to rescue him but when we saw a snake moving around, we got afraid and rushed to inform the police.”
