Traditionalists at Agboroko community, Iba Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, have reportedly performed cleansing rites after a yet-to-be-identified man committed suicide in the area.
According to The PUNCH, the corpse of the man was found dangling on a rope tied to a tree.
It was said that one of the workers at a mechanic shop, identified as Olasumbo Adewale, near the scene of the tragedy discovered the body when he returned to work on April 20, 2023.
He said, “When I resumed work that morning, I saw that people had gathered at a spot close to our workshop. Out of curiosity, I moved close to the place and I was shocked when I saw that a young man had been hanged on a tree close to a vulcaniser workshop.
“I quickly called the vulcaniser to inform him about the situation and he rushed down to the scene. It was when he arrived that he went to the Iba Police Station to report the case. What we also discovered was that the man might have used the seat under the tree to support himself when he committed the act because we found the seat below his feet.”
A resident, Jamiu Awosoji, claimed that attempts to determine the name and family members of the deceased person were unsuccessful.
“The place was crowded as people kept coming to look at the corpse. But despite the number of people who gathered to look at the corpse, no one could identify the victim. So, we felt he must have come from a far distance to commit suicide in this area. The police came around after the case was reported to them,” Awosoji said.
Another resident, who requested anonymity, stated that some traditionalists in the village performed traditional rites before removing the corpse from the tree.
“After the traditional rites, they brought down the corpse, placed it on the floor, covered it with some leaves and left. The corpse spent the whole day there. It was the following morning that we discovered that the corpse was no longer there. The vulcanizer who uses the place for business has been refused to do his business at the scene of the incident.”
The incident has been confirmed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin.
“It happened in Agboroko under Iba,” he said.