On Sunday,Odunukan Street, Abule Ijesha, Yaba, Lagos State, was
enveloped in distress, following the death of a resident, Dr Allwell
Orji, who jumped into the lagoon on the Third Mainland Bridge.
Residents approached by our correspondent, who visited the area on Monday, directed him to the doctor’s family house.
The family members, however, declined comments on the circumstances surrounding the incident, saying they were in mourning.
Recall that Orji, a medical doctor, was being driven in his Sport
Utility Vehicle en route to Lagos Island at about 4pm on Sunday.
He was said to have told his driver to stop after allegedly receiving a call.
The unmarried doctor disembarked from the car, headed for the railings at the edge of the bridge and jumped into the lagoon.
Asked what could have informed Orji’s decision, a resident, who did not
give her name, said, “I don’t know the cause. All I know is that doctor
was friendly and nice to everybody.
“He was single and was living with his mother. You can meet his family members. They are in the best position to explain what might lead to the incident.”
A middle-aged man, who addressed journalists on behalf of the Orjis
outside the family’s residence, stated that they did not want to speak
on the suicide.
He said the family members were already inundated by the media and wanted to be excused from making comments.
The man, who did not identify himself, said, “We are mourning and we
don’t want to see any journalist around. We want you to respect the
family. We lost a young man; we don’t have any cause to be happy.”
However, our correspondent overhead a distressed woman, saying the
driver should have informed the doctor’s mother before they went out on
Sunday.
“After he jumped into the lagoon, he (the driver), didn’t call to tell us what happened,” she added.
Meanwhile, PUNCH Metro, who also visited the scene of the incident
around 1pm, observed that LASEMA officials and a team of marine
policemen were still searching for Orji’s body.
The LASEMA General Manager, Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu, stated that fishermen
around the area had been informed to alert emergency agencies if they
found the body in any part of the lagoon.
He said,
“The body has yet to be recovered. The marine police and the local divers are still searching the lagoon.”
