An official of the Lagos State Transport Management Agency abruptly ended his life on Saturday.
He hanged himself on a billboard in the Opebi area of Ikeja.
The incident created shock, with people gathering round the scene, discussing it.
The Lagos State police command confirmed the incident, adding that Akinde’s corpse had been dropped in the mortuary.
He said, “I was going to Salvation bus stop and was on a bus when I saw a crowd of people looking at a mango tree before the bus stop. I thought there was a giant snake on the tree, so, when I alighted, I went to the scene and saw people taking pictures with their phone. At the scene, I saw the man dangling on the pole of a billboard with his tongue out. The pole was around the mango tree and it was around that part that the man used to hang himself.
“I saw a spec used by motorcyclists in his pocket, he wore a canvass, a jean and a black shirt. I heard one of the women that
Elkana said, “On Saturday, February 1, 2020 l, around 10.57 a.m., a female LASTMA official, Yetunde Olajabu, came to the police station and reported that she received a phone call from an unknown person that one man hanged himself on a mango tree at Opebi and was later identified to be Tope Akinde, a staff of LASTMA.
“His corpse has been deposited at IDH Hospital, Yaba mortuary by the Lagos State Ambulance Service. Information at our disposal from the deceased’s elder brother reveals that the late Tope Akinde had a mental problem which the family had been managing before his death.”
Suicide cases have been rampant in recent times, with observers saying it may get worsened based on the socio-economic realities getting harsher.
Last year, there were several cases, many of which were youths, especially students.
