Man jumps into well in Lagos, rescued alive

• Lagos govt get knocks for arraigning woman who attempted suicide

Weeks after some respite in the growing incidence of suicide in the state, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) yesterday rescued a suspected suicider who fell into a well at Ojota area of Lagos.

The alleged suicider was rescued by LASEMA officials alive yesterday morning. The man (name withheld) allegedly jumped into the well and a distress call was made to the emergency agency.

The agency’s Managing Director, Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu, said: “We received the distress call around 6:35a.m. about a man reported to have fell into a well at No. 38, Kujore Street, Ojota, Lagos. This prompted the immediate activation of our emergency responders to the scene.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the 45-year-old man was found inside a 160ft well, but, the process leading to the event could not be ascertained. “However, the man sustained a right femural fracture and left knee joint dislocation and was immediately moved to the hospital for further treatment by the officials of the Lagos State Ambulance Service,” he said.

Tiamiyu noted that proper investigation would be conducted on the incident. He, however, advised Lagosians to report any strange activities around their environment to the relevant agencies or call the 767/112 emergency toll-free number.

A police officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Guardian that the police was already investigating the incident to know the reason why the man jumped into the well.

“We want to know his motive and ascertain if it was a suicide mission. If it is attempted suicide, we will charge him to the court.” On Monday, the 51-year-old textile dealer at Balogun Market, Titilayo Momoh, who attempted to jump into the lagoon on the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, was arraigned before an Ebute-Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court for attempted suicide.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr. A.T. Elias, admitted the accused to a bail of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum. He also directed that the woman be taken to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation and adjourned the case until June 1 for the mention.

However, a former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, took to his Facebook post to slam the act as barbaric and evil, saying it is an archaic law that is against the principles of natural justice and needs to be taken off the statute books.

“I don’t understand the point of charging failed suicides to court for attempted murder. Do we want to drive them to succeed at suicide? Failed suicide needs counseling, support and understanding. Stress, pressures of life and disappointments drove them to suicide. By charging them to court, we are only adding more stress to their life,” he said.