Police rescue two women who attempted to jump into lagoon

Barely six days after a Lagos based medical practitioner, Dr.

Allwell Orji, committed suicide by jumping from the Third
Mainland Bridge into the Lagos lagoon, the Police in Lagos
yesterday, rescued two women who attempted to jump into
the lagoon from the Third Mainland and Carter bridges. They
claimed during an interview that they attempted suicide in order to escape from those they owed.

One of the women, Taiwo Titilayo Momoh, a textile dealer 
at Balogun market created a scene on the bridge as she insisted to be left alone to end it all, so as to be free from the debt she owed some importers.

RRS Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP,
Olatunji Disu, who confirmed the report said the incident
happened at about 11:25 a.m, after one Mrs. Abigael
Ogunyinka was also rescued by fishermen earlier same.

Momoh, (58) was in a cab heading to Lagos Island, when
 she ordered the cab driver to stop, on reaching Oworoshoki.

 She was said to have removed her shoes and was wrapping her dress around her waist tightly, when operatives of the Rapid Response Squad , RRS of the Lagos State Police command who were stationed at the point, held her.

The lady, who lives in Lekki, Lagos claimed that she was
pushed into committing suicide in order to put an end to
 her constant sleeplessness and shame occasioned by her
indebtedness to four different importers whose names she
gave as Ridmon, Helen, Mathias and an undisclosed
importer to the tune of $10,000 , $7,000, $5,000 and $2,000
respectively.

She noted that her problem started sometimes in 2015,
 when a Bureau De Change dealer duped her of N18.7 
million she 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 has 
maintained good relationship with the creditors for more
 than 15 years.

Her condition she said was compounded when robbers
invaded her shop in Lagos Island carting away most of the
textiles left with her.

She emphasized that most of the time she had been 
having sleepless nights and seeing the ghosts of the 
creditors whenever she was alone.

According to Momoh, “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. “I don’t want to use my debts 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. “I won’t join cult group because I want to get rich, I go my way and I don’t socialize unnecessarily.

I was a Muslim and because of this problem I have been
jumping from one faith to the other. The problem is too 
much for me to bear. I want to go back to God.

“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.”

However, as the woman was being led from the RRS
headquarters into a waiting police vehicle that was to take
 her to the police command, she created a scene on sighting
cameramen.

She said, “I did not steal, I did not kill anybody. I only wanted
to take my life. This Policeman ( pointing at the CP) said I
have committed a crime. Which crime? How is my attempt 
to kill myself anybody’s business? Is it not my life? Let me
 end it all.

On her part, the second woman, Abigail Ogunyinka (61) 
said she decided to end it all because she was frustrated with life.

Lamenting that life had been unfair to her, she said she had
 no child and that her husband and only friend was at the moment sick. In order to get drugs for her husband who is down with stroke, she said she had so far collected loan of N150,000.

But she said she decided to take her life following disturbance
from those she owed. Briefing newsmen at the RRS office,
Alausa where the woman was taken to, the command boss,
Fatai Owoseni, noted that committing suicide was an offence
under the law but that the police would try to talk her out of
committing suicide.

He informed that the woman would be taken through post-
trauma programme to raise her hope, adding that the police
would also do a medical evaluation on her to ascertain her
condition.

Describing the rate of suicide in the country as worrisome, 
the CP said that the command had begun patrol of bridges
across the state to forestall any likely suicide attempt.

He further disclosed that it was now an offence for 
individuals to walk on bridges in the state and that no
 vehicle would be allowed to stop on any bridge in the state henceforth in order to prevent suicide. Right now, the
 woman is still in trauma and she still insists that she wants
 to end her life,” he said.