By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
The Kwara State Police Command have aborted a suicide attempt by a man, who left Osun State to take his own life, out of frustration, in Kwara State.
The man, identified as Olayinka Segun Owolabi, of No 54, Ile Alagbede, Abutu Oyan, in Odo-Otin Local Government Area of Osun State, was reportedly found around Eiyenkorin Road, Ilorin Airport area.
According to a statement by the Kwara State Police Command Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ajayi Okasanmi, police officers of the command attached to Budo Nuhu Police Station, Ilorin, on Thursday, April 21, 2022, were informed by a passerby, who reportedly “sighted what looked like a man hanging on a tree very close to the main road at NAFSAT area along checking point bus stop, Ilorin.”
This information, according to the PPRO, “elicited a quick response by policemen who rushed to the scene, the rope around the neck of the victim was loosened. He was rescued and rushed to Tobi Hospital, Taiwo Road, Ilorin,” where he was responding to treatment as at the press time on Friday.
Okasanmi said that on interrogation, the man told the police that he was tired of life, having lost his job, lost both parents and no help was forthcoming from anywhere, with no assurance of where the next meal would come from. The situation he said, “prompted him to decide to end his life.”
These confessions were said to have been extracted from the man after he had gained consciousness in the hospital.
The PPRO said the state Commissioner of Police, CP, Mr Tuesday Assayomo, psc(+), advised members of the public, especially parents, guidance and community leaders to always watch and monitor the activities of their children and wards.
He added that the CP also counselled the parents and guardians to always discnarge their duty of care diligently, to members of their communities, considering the global economic situation which had no doubt impacted negatively on the well-being of a large number of the populace.
The Police spokesman added that his boss also advised people against taking one’s life, reiterating that “any attemt to take one’s life, apart from being against God’s injunction, is also a crime punishable by law, if the offender survives the attempt.”
The police in Kwara State, he said, promised to always ensure the safety of lives and property of the citizens while at the same time, warned criminal elements to steer clear of Kwara State, saying, “Except the would-be criminals want an accommodation in the correctional centers.”
