How director hung self to death in Kogi

Idris Ahmed, Lokoja

It was anguish and shock among residents of Lokoja the Kogi state capital as the dangling body of a senior civil servant, Mr. Edward Soje, was found after more than a week search following his disappearance.

Late Soje, a director in the Kogi State civil service, committed suicide by hanging himself on a tree in the state capital

It was gathered on Saturday in Lokoja that the dangling body of Soje was found on a tree behind the mammy market at the Maigumeri Barracks of the Nigeria Army Command Record.

The 54 year-old civil servant decided to take his life barely 10 days after his wife gave birth to a set of male triplets in a private hospital in Abuja after 17 years of childlessness.

Soje, who hailed from Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area of Kogi state was a Grade Level 16 officer in the State Teaching Service Commission and was being owed 11 months’ salary arrears as at the time he took his own life.

According to sources, the late Soje left a suicide note for the wife who also works in one of the federal ministries: “Psalm 121:3 God will not suffer your foot to move. He that keepeth you will not slumber. Amen. You and the three boys, the God Almighty keep you and prosperous,’ amen. I love you,” the suicide note simply read.

Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relation Officer, ASP William Aya, said that the dangling body of Soje was found on a tree behind the barracks at about 5:55 pm on October 16.

Aya said that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Area D division received information about the incident from the military intelligence office in the barracks. “Police moved to the scene, removed the corpse to the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre in Lokoja. Investigation is ongoing,” Aya added.

According to the police, nothing was found on the man to help trace his address and family.

However, a search party organised by his relations and friends, found his corpse at the morgue of the hospital on October 20.

Family source disclosed that Soje had before the incident been going through a lot of financial pressure due to non-payment of his salary for 11 months by the Kogi State government.

He was among thousands of civil servants being owed salaries between two and 21 months by government.

As a way out, he was said to have sold his only car and a three-bedroom bungalow he was building at Otokiti area of Lokoja. The building which was at lintel level was sold by the deceased at a giveaway price of N1.5 million in April to meet urgent family needs, it was gathered.

According to the sources, Soje’s financial woes became compounded when the wife gave birth to a set of triplets through Caesarian operation in a private hospital in Abuja on October 7.
He was said to have remained in the hospital to look after wife and children until October 13, a day before the naming ceremony when he decided to come back to Lokoja.

On getting to Lokoja, Soje reportedly went straight to his bank to collect the remaining N30,000 in his account with one of the commercial banks and thereafter informed the bank in writing about his decision to close the account.

Soje left Lokoja for the hospital in Abuja where he rejoined his wife and handed over the N30,000 cash to her.

On October 14, Soje and wife were joined by two pastors and few relatives to perform a brief naming ceremony for the triplets in the hospital. He later left the hospital on the pretext that he wanted to pick few things from the wife’s apartment in Abuja with a promise to come back in a short time, but did not come back for hours and did not pick any of the many calls made to his telephone line, a development which forced the wife to send somebody to the house to go and ascertain what was happening to him. The person, on getting to the apartment knocked the door severally but no response and decided to call his telephone number. On hearing the telephone ringing out from the apartment, the person was said to have knocked severally again but no response. This made him to seek the assistance of neighbours to force the door open.

When the door was opened, the people were taken aback when they saw Soje’s telephone handset placed on a suicide note on the centre table in the sitting room while he was nowhere to be found.

When the wife was informed, she quickly contacted some people to begin a search for him in Abuja while relations and friends in Lokoja were also informed of the development. Efforts made to locate him were fruitless until relations decided to visit hospitals in Lokoja.

The management of the hospital explained to the family members that Soje’s corpse was brought in by the police who found it dangling on a tree.

A family member who craved anonymity described the late Soje as a “very quiet and lovable human being.”