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Woman commits suicide as ‘pay back’ to mother
A trader, Funmilola Adeodu, has committed suicide in Ilogbo-Eremi, in the Morogbo area of Lagos State.
The 28-year-old mother of two was said to have taken a local insecticide, Sniper, to spite her mother, Ifatunmibi Adegbenle, for allegedly maltreating her niece, Rachael Balogun.
The deceased’s husband, Samuel Adeodu, told PUNCH Metro that Ifatunmibi always fought his wife for indulging Rachael’s bad behaviour.
Rachael was said to be living with Ifatunmibi, but usually ran to Funmilola’s house anytime she was beaten for misbehaving.
Samuel said, “My wife and I had no fight. In fact, we woke up on the same bed on Friday, October 26, when this incident happened. The issue was among my wife, her mother and the niece.
“The niece, Rachael, is very stubborn. Whenever her grandmother corrected her, she would run to my place to meet my wife because we all live within the same neighbourhood. This usually caused disagreement between my wife and her mother. The mother usually cursed her for indulging Rachael. I heared her saying that nobody could take Rachael away from her because she had been nurturing her since she was a baby and my wife used to say that she was going to kill herself over it.
“I was working when I received a call that my wife drank Sniper. They even said before she drank the insecticide, she had taken a local rat poison in the presence of her parents, but people gave her palm oil. It was after that attempt that she went out to buy Sniper and drank it before they could stop her.
“My thinking is that when she was rescued after taking the rat poison, it should be clear to them that she meant it when she said she would commit suicide. So, they should not have released her to go back to her shop alone; what were they thinking? It means that they killed her, because she died in their presence.”
Ifatunmibi told PUNCH Metro that she had on several occasions cautioned her daughter against encouraging Rachael’s misconduct.
She explained that Funmilola had already taken the rat poison before coming to her place, adding that efforts to prevent her from drinking the Sniper proved abortive.
The Osun State indigene said, “Whenever I corrected Rachael, she would run to Funmilola’s place to report me and I always pleaded with her to ignore Rachael, but she did not listen to me.
“Rachael was abandoned when she was just 11-month-old and I have been taking care of her ever since. She’s about 16-year-old now and I see nothing wrong in correcting her for doing something wrong since she lives with me.
“On the day of the incident, I wanted to correct Richael for stealing N50 when she ran to Funmilola’s shop. When Funmilola came, she shouted that I always maltreated Rachael and that she was going to kill herself to give me a bad name.
“We were begging her when someone said she had already taken rat poison. We quickly held her and gave her red oil and coconut water to calm her down.
“We thought that it was over when she said she was going back home, until she returned with Sniper and drank it. We tried to stop her, but it was too late. I don’t know what Rachael told Funmilola that made her to commit suicide.”
Funmilola’s father, Hassan, said the deceased also attempted to poison her own son, Joseph, but was stopped, adding that she was counselled for hours after her first suicidal attempt failed.
“I was the one that stopped her from poisoning Joseph. In fact, Funmilola had already opened his mouth to give him rat poison before I took him to my wife’s shop. It was at that point she ate the remaining poison before people intervened and rescued her.
“Funmilola’s friend even counseled her for three hours and when she was fine, she told me that she was going home. I gave her the go ahead and warned her not to fight with anybody. I also told her to pay me a visit the following day and she left. All of a sudden, she came back with Sniper and started saying she was going to kill herself.
“We had some distance between us, so before I could collect the local insecticide from her, she had taken it. She even bit me while trying to stop her,” the 50-year-old said.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti, confirmed the incident, adding that the deceased committed suicide over custody of the niece.
He said, “We are investigating a case of suicide. Unfortunately, the person that is at the centre of the story is gone; she did not leave a suicide note. But from what we gathered from the family, she had a tussle with her mother over the custody of a child that was raised by the mother. She wanted the girl to live with her and the mother refused and that was a source of frustration for her.
“From what we gathered, that was the only issue she had against her mother. But nobody ever imagined that she would be so pained to the point of taking her own life.”
Source: PUNCH Metro
The Enugu State government has inaugurated a steering committee to eliminate Gender-Based Violence, GBV, in the state, declaring zero tolerance for the social malaise.
The inauguration took place at the Government House Enugu.
The panel, which is chaired by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, draws its membership from the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education as well as the Civil Society.
Inaugurating the panel known as the Steering Committee for Strengthening Institutional and Community Responses to End Gender-Based Violence/Domestication of Enugu State Gender Policy using the Oputa Panel approach, Governor Peter Mbah restated his administration’s commitment to not bringing perpetrators of GBV to book, but also putting in place proactive measures – activities, infrastructure, and systems in place to prevent them.
Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said, “We take gender-based violence seriously. We have zero tolerance for it, and in Enugu State, we are ready to go the extra mile to deal with it.
“If you notice, the government has selected people that are very committed to this goal. This is not an activity where we just want to check-off the list. We will track this. We will monitor this, and we will have quarterly engagements on the successes that this particular committee has achieved in terms of reference that we are going to send.
“We will tighten those terms of reference indicators, so that we monitor what we are doing both in terms of cost input and the value added. It’s very important to us. Many people will be involved – civil society, the police and various ministries.”
He however, said that the effort was to protect everyone, men and women alike, as GBV was not restricted to any gender.
“The whole idea is to hold people responsible that are involved in matters relating to gender violence and deter people that by culture or by association get involved in that, protect women, protect our children, and in the case of violence against men, protect our men because most times we misconstrue gender violence to mean women, but it can also be men too.
“We encourage our men to speak out and to make sure they understand that the policy that Enugu State is soon going to domesticate is for everyone, and not only for the female gender,” he stated.
In her remark, Mrs. Enih, explained that the Oputa Panel approach was inspired by the need to cover all local peculiarities in domesticating the policy on GBV, restarting government’s confidence in the members of the panel.
“The approach we are going to use is the Oputa Panel approach, and in the Oputa Panel approach, we are going to tour the 17 Local Government Areas to get firsthand information about what our people are going through because policy is meant for the people, and a policy should suit the people.
“Again, every community has its peculiar problems, so that’s why the government decided that if we have to domesticate the gender policy, we have to hear from the people who own the policy and know the changes that they desire to see. That is the reason we are using this approach.
“The committee members are to also serve as judges. As we gather this information from our people, we will come back to tailor it in a way to suit the people of Enugu State, and then our policy is ready.
“We want the people to know that there is a gender policy for them. I can assure you that when the people are aware that there is such a policy, they will seek for the enforcement of that policy. So, this is not going to be one of those policies that will just lie on the shelf,” she said.
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has congratulated Christians in Nigeria on this year’s Easter celebration, and urged them to emulate the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
The company, in a goodwill message to the Christian faithful in the country, lauded their perseverance through the Lenten period which preceded Easter. It enjoined them to always promote the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the virtues of the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
“Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”, Globacom added.
The company enjoined all Nigerians to share in the lessons of promoting selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society. It also enjoined all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
Easter is celebrated yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of seamless voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
The Guild of Private Broadcast Managers has extended its heartfelt congratulations to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) as it celebrates its 70th Anniversary.
In a congratulatory message signed by the Guild’s National President, Ambassador Patrick Uzoyi-Peters, JP MNGRM, the guild described the milestone as a testament to the NUJ’s unwavering commitment to upholding press freedom, journalistic integrity, and the advancement of democracy in Nigeria.
“For seven decades, the NUJ has played a pivotal role in shaping the media landscape, advocating for the rights and welfare of journalists, and ensuring that the voice of the people remains strong and unyielding. Your resilience, professionalism, and dedication to ethical journalism have been instrumental in fostering transparency, accountability, and national development”.
Celebrating this historic achievement, the Guild’s President, Uzoyi-Peters recognized the sacrifices and contributions of journalists across the nation who work tirelessly to inform, educate, and empower society.
The Guild reiterated it commitment towards collaborating with the NUJ in promoting responsible journalism and strengthening the media industry for the greater good.
While wishing the NUJ continued success, growth, and greater impact in the years ahead, President Uzoyi-Peters prayed that the anniversary serve as a renewed call to uphold the principles of truth, fairness, and press freedom in our collective pursuit of a more informed and just society.
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