Father of five commits suicide at work in Ekiti

There was confusion at Ekiti State Secretariat on Wednesday as a civil servant, Abolarinwa Olaoye, allegedly hanged himself in suspicious circumstances.

The body of the 49-year-old night guard at the State Scholarship Board was found hanging at the staircase behind the office.

He was said to have reported for duty Tuesday evening for an overnight duty but it remained unclear  when the act was allegedly committed.

Olaoye’s body was suspended with a clothing material tied to the railing of the staircase.

The Boxer MB 100 brand  motorcycle with registration number ADK 210 WS brought by the deceased to the office was parked within the building where the suicide took place.

The development triggered panic at the Secretariat as fellow civil servants trooped out from their offices to catch a glimpse of the incident.

As the news of the incident spread, civil servants and other residents from other parts of the town stormed the scene to see the dangling body of the deceased.

Olaoye, a native of Igogo Ekiti, Moba Local Government area of the State, according to Mrs Elizabeth Babalola, an in-law and confidant,  came to her around 4.30 pm on Tuesday and lamented the acute financial problems he had been encountering of recent.

She said: “He came to me around 4.30pm on Tuesday and started  lamenting that his house rent had due and that he could not pay due to irregular salary payment.

“He said he was also indebted to the government through housing and car loans he obtained.

“He also complained  about inability to meet other financial commitments to  his wife’s  family. He told me he could go ahead and do some nasty . He told me clearly that he was tired of life.

“I tried to persuade him not to resort to anything nasty. I told him life is full of ups and downs and that he should just endure, but I never knew he would end this way” she said.

The Executive Secretary of the Ekiti State Scholarship Board, Mr. Ayo Ajimati, confirmed that the deceased was a staff of the board before his demise.

“Yes, he was our staff. He was a very prayerful, jovial and amiable person, I didn’t understand what led to this. I didn’t know the kind of problem he had that could lead to this”, he said.

As at the time of filing this report, the body of the man was still hanging to the wall due to insistence of some people that certain ritual would have to be performed  before he could be brought down.

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and policemen from the nearby new Iyin Road Police Station located came to the scene.

But they could not remove the corpse as they said they were waiting for the family from Igogo Ekiti to arrive before taking any action.