Man commits suicide in Ilorin

A lifeless body of a man, simply identified as Prince, has been discovered by his neighbours in his rented apartment located at Jooro, Asa Dam area of Ilorin West local government area of Kwara state.

The discovery had reportedly thrown the community into confusion.

Prince, who was said to be living comfortably as a miner for many years in Ibadan had relocated to Ilorin about three weeks ago after experiencing economic misfortune.

The development had reportedly led to separation from his wife and children, a few years ago.

According to a resident of Jooro and neighbour of the deceased, who did not want her name in print, “Nobody knew about the plan of Prince until his church member came around as his door was locked.

“The church member knocked without any response. So the people forced the door open only to find Prince’s lifeless body dangling from the ceiling”.

It was also gathered that the deceased had informed Pastor of a church which he reportedly joined at Adewole area of Ilorin about two weeks ago, of his intention to commit suicide due to hardship.

According to another source, who worshipped in the same church with the deceased, the pastor had on two or three occasions given Prince money to ameliorate his suffering and had even referred him to members of the parish for employment.

“He joined our parish about two weeks ago after narrating how he sold his various property to survive after his business crumbled.

“Our pastor gave him letters to some church members to assist him with a job but they all promised to get back to him as soon as they have a vacancy in their establishments.

“On few occasions after service at the church, our pastor will give him money to ameliorate his suffering but we were all surprised when he called on Monday, a day before his death, to pronounce his intention to commit suicide due to adversity”, the source said.

The source also said that the pastor had told him not to carry out his threat and had subsequently called a church member to check on Prince at his Jooro residence to forestall any mishap.

Speaking of the last moments of the deceased, the source said that, “Prince left home on a motorcycle with a sack and returned to his room without talking to anyone on the same bike.

“Last Sunday, his son paid him a visit but Prince refused to open the door until the neighbours pleaded with him to allow the young man in,” the source said.

Meanwhile, after the discovery of the lifeless body of Prince, the estate agent-in-charge of the house alongside residents of the area were said to have reported the incident at the Adewole Police Station, while a suicide note with phone numbers of families of the deceased was found.

The remains of Prince had since been deposited at the morgue of General Hospital, Ilorin.

However, the Public Relations Officer of the Kwara State Police Command, DSP Ajayi Okasanmi, said he was yet to be briefed on the occurrence.