Man, 20, commits suicide in church premises

The discovery of the remains of a young parishioner, simply identified as Kachi, found hanging in the early hours of yesterday at the Hall of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday caused panic among residents of the area.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the deceased, an indigene of Imo State, was a devoted Catholic and former Mass servant of the church.

Some parishioners at the scene said he was a taxi driver, who plied his trade at the popular Aggrey/Borokiri road in the city.

The parishioners expressed shock over the incident and wondered why the deceased would commit suicide, especially as a devoted Christian.

One of the parishioners, who identified himself as Magnus, said that late Kachi was popularly known as Fabregas due to his football skills and dedication to youth activities in the church.

“Kachi, until his death, was about 20 years old, unmarried and a hardworking young man who was loved.”

“We tried to locate where he lived, but we were unable to do so due to the fact that he moved to a new apartment, which is unknown to us.

“As we speak, nobody has come out to say exactly why Kachi killed himself,” he said.

Another member of the church, who gave her name as Nkechi, alleged that the deceased took his life because the owner of the taxi retrieved the vehicle from him few days ago.

“Kachi was not married and had been sleeping in the church hall.

“The taxi he drove was on hire purchase and I learnt that the owner of the vehicle took back the car, maybe because he wasn’t meeting up with condition of their agreement.

“I learnt that he took his life out of frustration caused by the seizure of the vehicle,” she said.

The Rivers Police Command was yet to confirm the report, the Police Public Relations Officer, Omoni Nnamdi, did not answer calls or replied messages sent to his cell phone.

The church authority was also yet to commend on the development.

Meanwhile, the body of the deceased had been taken to an undisclosed morgue in Port Harcourt.