79 Nigerians commit suicide by 2022

No fewer than 79 people will have committed suicide in Nigeria by 2022, The PUNCH collected.

Findings reviewed by our correspondent showed that the 79 individuals within the period were 70 men and 9 women.

The figure does not include the number of suicides not reported in the media.

The breakdown showed that Lagos ranked highest with 12 suicides; followed by Oyo; 10; canoe, four; Anambra three; Edo, three; Delta, three; Ogun, three; and Rivers, three.

Borno, Bayelsa, Abia, Benue, FCT, Imo, Enugu, Niger, Jos, Jigawa, Kaduna and Kwara each had two cases.

Others, such as Ondo, Osun, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Gombe, Cross-River, Kogi, Adamawa, Ekiti, Bauchi, and Yobe, each had one case.

Our correspondent understood that there were three suicides in the United Kingdom and the United States.

It was reported that on May 19, a former battalion commander who led the fight against Boko Haram in the northeast, Major UJ Undianyede, allegedly committed suicide.

It was learned that he committed suicide less than 72 hours before the verdict of a court-martial that tried him for alleged military offenses committed during the war.

On May 27, a 45-year-old Lagos accountant, Folake Abiola, committed suicide at her residence in Osapa London, in the Lekki area of ​​Lagos State. She reportedly drank what was believed to be insecticide and died soon after, when her relatives, friends and Nigerian police men met her motionless.

Also, a 40-year-old woman, Lilian Omokhuale, born Omoruyi Oloton, committed suicide in Edo state on October 12 after being defrauded by fraudsters out of more than N300 million. Omokhuale, mother of two and daughter of a Benin billionaire, drank Sniper and died before help could arrive.

In the United States, on June 3, it was reported that a Nigerian man wanted for shooting his wife and killing her mother in Texas, USA, shot and killed himself after leading police in a short car chase. Obinna Igbokwe, 41, was wanted after deputies were called to a shooting on Aldine Westfield Road and found the two women shot in the head.

Speaking to our correspondent on Monday, a psychologist, Charlie Akoh lamented that suicide rates are on the rise, noting that anyone can become a victim of suicide if the situation is not properly managed.

Akoh explained, “The suicide rate in the world today is alarmingly high due to depression, anxiety and substance abuse, especially when left unaddressed. Suicidal feelings can strike anyone, regardless of age, gender, or background, at any time. If you’re feeling suicidal, you’ve probably been feeling increasingly hopeless and worthless for some time.

“Some medications, such as antidepressants, can cause some people to experience suicidal feelings. Some antipsychotics and mood stabilizers also cause some people to develop suicidal tendencies. People who join gay and lesbian groups are extremely prone to suicide because when society starts whipping at them it can become unbearable, to the extent that they resort to suicide, as an escape from the overwhelming and excruciating trauma.

Akoh advised that “procrastination is dangerous and that victims of depression, frustration and hopelessness should talk to a psychologist, psychiatrist or other mental health professional as soon as possible.

“The government should step up efforts to restrict access to suicide methods and apart from this, government treatment of the mentally ill should be made free so that victims show up for treatment at the right time before it gets worse.

“The government must constantly educate the media about the dangers of drug abuse, as well as the harmful effects of maintaining gang relationships.

“Government needs to review education programs, from primary to tertiary institutions, to create space for mandatory classes on the dangers of drug abuse and how to avoid it.”