Mother of unemployed graduates hangs self in Anambra State

• Security operatives rescue man from committing suicide in Kano
Residents of Achalla-Umana, Mgbakwu in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State were thrown into mourning at the weekend when a 66-year old woman committed suicide in her room, with many saying the deceased was an industrious woman.

The deceased, simply identified as Uzoaku, a mother of two graduates, was said to have hung herself with a rope, which she suspended on the burglary proof of the window in her room.

It was gathered that the deceased had complained before her death to some people that she was angry her two children who graduated many years ago had not got any job. The deceased, according to eyewitnesses, was cooking in the kitchen on Friday evening, when she suddenly abandoned the food and dashed to the bedroom where she took her life.

A neighbour, Isaac Umeh, who described the incident as regrettable, wondered why a grandmother would take such a drastic decision. He said the deceased was alone at home when the ugly incident happened.

“Nobody was around except her. The food she was cooking was still on fire when she suddenly abandoned it and rushed into the room where she used a rope to hang herself on a window protector. The whole thing is still a shock to us because nobody believed a woman of her age with grandchildren can take her life that way,” he said.

The younger brother to the deceased, Fredrick Nwenu, who accommodated her while alive, said the news came to him as a shock, insisting that there was no reason for her elder sister to take her life, haven trained her two children to university level. “She has two children who are university graduates. In fact, the daughter is happily married with kids. So she has no reason whatsoever to commit suicide,” he added.

When newsmen visited the residence of the deceased, sympathisers were trooping in, in their numbers to condole with the family.

Attempts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Anambra State police command, Mrs. Nkeiruka Nwode, for confirmation and reaction were not successful as calls to her mobile phone were neither taken nor returned as at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, the joint efforts of officers of the Nigerian Police Force and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Saturday saved a renown poet, Mallam Isma’ila Shabege, from committing suicide in Kano. Shagebe climbed the Kano State Broadcasting Corporation FM Station high mass situated at Tukuntawa quarters in Municipal local government area of the state.

It was gathered that before his resolve to attempt to take his life, the poet wrote a letter in which he revealed all the reasons that prompted him to act in that manner. According to an eyewitness, one Malam Muktar Isah, who read the content of the letter placed before the mass, the poet is frustrated by attitude of some politicians who refused to pay him for the songs he sang for them.

Malam Isa said: “We attempted to call him to order but he refused to reason with us. So he climbed the high mass. It was when the situation reached its crescendo, that the guardsmen drew the attention of the Managing Director of the Kano State Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), Malam Umar Said Twada, who promptly responded and arrived at the scene in time to save the situation. It was the MD who swiftly called the security agents.”