…Lagos police foils suicide attempt
Operatives of the Lagos State Police have on Sunday rescued a 45-year-old man, Adeyinka Abiodun, who attempted to jump into the lagoon at Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, over N500,000 debt.
The incident was said to have occurred on Friday July 31 around 1:50pm when police operatives deployed to Third Mainland Bridge intercepted Abiodun, a resident of Abaranje Road, Ikotun.
Upon his rescue, he narrated to the police that in March 2020, he procured a loan of N390,000 with monthly repayment plan for six months and accrued interest of N142,287:25 from a micro finance bank in Lagos Island.
“The loan was collected with intent to upgrade my wine retail business, but the business failed and the money lost,” he decried.
Abiodun, a father of two, holds a Bachelor of science degree in Physics and a Masters degree in Business Administration.
The state police spokesman, SP Bala Elkana said this in a media release. “Abiodun is currently attending medical and counselling sessions after he was rescued and taken to Bariga Police Station for questioning and debriefing”.
While the micro finance bank Abiodun procured the loan from was contacted to confirm the loan, the state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has repaid the loan.
However, worried by the rate in which people are killing themselves, the Commissioner of Police Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu enjoined Lagosians to always explore other means of addressing life challenges than resorting to taking their own life, as suicide is never an option.
Noting that this is the 8th suicide attempt successfully foiled by the police in Lagos, in the last two months, the CP called on well-meaning individuals to always reach out to the needy and less privileged persons around them. “Together we can stop suicide”.
