One of the women, Abigale Ogunyinka, had already jumped into the lagoon, while the other, Taiwo Momoh, was attempting to jump into the lagoon, when she was rescued.
It was gathered that Ogunyinka was early, on Friday, rescued by local fishermen and policemen, after she jumped into the lagoon from the Carter Bridge.
The woman had blamed her suicide attempt on her indebtedness, saying she had tried in vain to pay the debt, which according to her, was about one hundred and fifty thousand naira (N150,000).
The police were still trying to investigate the circumstances behind the attempt by Ogunyinka to end her life, when operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) rescued another woman, who was trying to jump into the lagoon from the Third Mainland Bridge.
The 58-year-0ld Taiwo Momoh, a textile dealer had reportedly around 11: 25 am on Friday morning removed her shoes and was trying to adjust her dress to jump into the lagoon, when she was rescued by the RRS226 officers.
The lady, who lives in Lekki, Lagos, disclosed that she was pushed to committing suicide in order to put an end to her constant sleeplessness and shame occasioned by her indebtedness to three Swiss textile dealers.
She noted that her problem started sometimes in 2015, when a Bureau De Change dealer absconded with her N18.7 million, which she had wanted to change to pay her foreign creditors.
She added that the creditors had given her Swiss textiles worth several millions of naira, noting that she had maintained good relationship with the creditors for more than 15 years.
Her condition, she said became compounded when robbers invaded her shop in Lagos Island carting away most of the textiles that was left with her.
She emphasised that most of the time, she has been having sleepless nights and seeing the ghosts of the creditors whenever she was alone.
Momoh, a member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) disclosed that on several occasions she had attempted to see her Parish Pastor to narrate her problem to him and for the church to help her raise money to meet her Swiss creditors in order to assure them that she would pay their money.
She noted that she was only allowed to see the second in command, which has yielded no fruits.
“Added to all these, my first son, whom I felt would stand by me and console me abandoned me. By the time I’m gone, maybe he would come around and inherit what is left,” she said.
She added: “I don’t want to use my debt and death to disturb anybody. I was in the shop this morning. I have looked everywhere and estimated what is there.”
“I think, with my house, a bungalow, those I am leaving behind can still live comfortably. I want to go and meet God. This world is empty,” she stated.
“I won’t because I want to get rich join a cult group. I go my way and I don’t socialise unnecessarily. I was a Muslim, I have because of this problem been jumping from one faith to the other. The problem is too much for me to bear. I want to go back to God,” she lamented.
She also stated that: “That is why I have dressed very simply. I am ready to meet Him. If He cannot address my problem on earth, let me go back to Him.”
The state police commissioner, Fatai Oowoseni, said that Momoh was in a taxi towards Oworonsoki, when she stopped in the middle of the road and attempted to end her life.
The police boss said: “She attempted suicide by attempting to jump into the lagoon around Oworonshoki inward Mainland on Third Mainland Bridge.”
He also added that: “Unfortunately for her, she was rescued. The woman was in a taxi and alighted on the bridge and wanted to commit suicide by jumping into the lagoon.”
Police boss, Owoseni, also stated that his interaction with the woman showed that she was suffering from depression as a result of her inability to pay back her debt.
The Lagos police boss reiterated that it was an offence to commit suicide but expressed the willingness of the police in the state to talk to the two women and to advise them against suicide.
Owoseni also said that the police would ensure that the victims go through post trauma programme as a way of discouraging them from committing suicide.
The police boss lamented the high rate of suicide in the country and declared that it is now an offence to walk on the bridges in Lagos, while also stating that the police would ensure that more patrol attention is paid to the bridges in the state.
He also said that vehicles would no longer be allowed to park on the bridges in the state as a way of preventing people from committing suicide through the bridge.