By Ahmed Ajikobi
Residents of Jooro, Asa Dam area in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State were on Monday thrown into confusion after finding the lifeless body of a man simply identified as Prince was discovered in his rented apartment, on Monday.
Prince who was said to be living comfortably as a miner for many years in Ibadan relocated to Ilorin about three weeks ago after things turned for worse for him. The development reportedly led to separation from his wife and children, a few years ago.
According to a resident of Jooro and neighbour of the deceased, who does not want her name in print, “Nobody knew about the plan of Prince until his church member came around, his door was locked.
“The church member knocked without any response, so the people forced the door open only to find Prince’s lifeless body dangling from the ceiling.”
A day to his death, Prince was said to have informed the Pastor of a church he joined at Adewole in Ilorin, two weeks ago, of his intention to commit suicide due to hardship.
According to another source who worships at the same church with the departed, the pastor had on two or three occasions given prince money to ameliorate his suffering and had even referred him to members of the parish for employment.
“He joined our parish about two weeks ago after narrating how sold his various property to survive after his business crumbled.
“Our pastor gave him letters to some church members to assist him with a job but they all promised to get back to him as soon as they have vacancy in their establishments.
“On a few occasions after service at the church, our pastor will give him money to ameliorate his suffering but we were all surprised when he called on Monday to pronounce his intention to commit suicide due to adversity.”
The source added that the pastor told him not to carry out his threat and subsequently called a church member to check on Prince at his Jooro residence to forestall any mishap.
Speaking on the last moments of the deceased, “Prince left home on a motorcycle with a sack and returned to his room without talking to anyone on the same bike.
“Last Sunday, his son paid him a visit but Prince refused to open the door until the neighbours pleaded with him to allow the young man in,” the source divulged.
Meanwhile, after the discovery of the lifeless body of Prince, the estate agent in-charge of the house alongside residents of the area were said to have reported the incident at the Adewole Police Station. On arrival, the policemen reportedly found a suicide note with the phone numbers of families of the deceased.
The remains of Prince had since been deposited at the morgue of General Hospital, Ilorin.
When contacted last night, Public Relations Officer of the Kwara State Police Command, DSP Ajayi Okasanmi, said he is yet to be briefed on the occurrence.
