Father of three commits suicide: writes landlord, pastor and wife | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Friday 25 November 2011

Father of three commits suicide: writes landlord, pastor and wife

From E-expressnigeria.com
For residents and neighbours of No 6, Sikiru Rotimi Street, Ejigbo, Lagos, the death of a businessman simply identified as Joseph was a rude shock that left them dazed for days. Although, the way and manner by which he met his death was clear, the reason for his death remains a big mystery to his family, friends and neighbours. The deceased committed suicide by hanging himself on November 15, 2011. Before he hanged himself, the father of three, whose first son’s name is Jeremiah, wrote three letters addressed to his landlord, pastor and wife respectively.

According to neighbours who heard his wife narrating the sequence of events that led to the tragedy, the deceased wrote a letter, enveloped and addressed it to his pastor, after which he gave his wife to deliver to the pastor of the church of the zonal headquarters of Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry church located on the adjacent street, where the family worships. The unsuspecting wife left to run the errand. By the time she returned she met his body hanging from the roof. She also met two letters on the table. The first was addressed to the landlord, the second to his family.

The three letters, however, contained the same contents. The deceased in his writings mentioned names of individuals to whom he directed specific instructions.
While seeking forgiveness from his three children, he asked his first child, Jeremiah, to take care of his two sisters. He concluded with a prayer that God will be with them. To his relatives, he wrote “I am sorry for disappointing you.”

To his pastor, identified as Gbenga Agboola, he asked for forgiveness and he enjoined the man of God to keep up the good works. After apologising to his landlord, for “disturbing” his child’s coming wedding which was due to hold five days later, the late Joseph instructed him to kindly refund to his wife the balance of the rent he paid from January to September 2012. He specified the balance to be N175, 000. To his friends and admirers, he craved their forgiveness too. He wrote that he was sorry for his action. Even the police got a mentioning in his letter. He directed that the Lagos State Police should not make any arrest in connection with his death. His corpse, he ordered, should be handed over to the Lagos State Government for burial, in spite of the fact that he was an Igbo native. The reason, he gave was that he was born and bred in Lagos. He also noted in the letter that the cause of his death was not due to financial problem but rather it was due to unseen forces which had been affecting him from childhood.

He concluded the letter with a grave warning that whosoever refuses to abide by the instructions in the letter would, together with his or her children, suffer seven times the afflictions he experienced.
His corpse was retrieved by the police hours after the discovery. By the next day, a conspiracy of silence had developed around the street as no one was willing to talk about the tragedy. Neither the deceased’s family nor his landlord’s was receptive to probing. Even neighbours who initially were cooperative later became hostile. Every avenue explored by EE reporters ended in a wall of silence. The pastor of the church where the family worships also declined to comment on the tragedy, aside from quipping that “anybody that is not a creator of life that takes life has sinned against God and whatever form of sin against God leads to hell”.

Neighbours are still wondering on possible reasons that drove the man to commit suicide. According to a neighbour, the deceased had a thriving business and “he lived comfortable enough”. The source, who preferred anonymity, alleged that the deceased had a shop at Ilasamaja, along Apapa-Oshodi expressway.

32 comments:

Atobatele said...

For whatever reason will a man take his own life. This is a mystery.

Amaka's Notepad said...

How could he do that to his family??? What 'unseen forces' couldnt God have taken care of??? How does he think his children will think of him in life??? Does he think that a simple 'please forgive me' will make it all better???


Questions i would have loved to ask him BEFORE he hung himself.

ugo frank said...

nawa oo, things are happening no comment

Anonymous said...

I just can't help this is more than serious.He must have tried means to get the forces out of his life but to no avail.Ha! He believe death is the solution,oh he allow the enemies to defeat him.Oh my GOD,y?Pls help us against this wicked spirits,cos there's none like u.Am short of words

Pyrexzy said...

wat must hav led 2 his death, questions shud b asked ooo.

Anonymous said...

hmmn the devil is real o and he lives among us...was it not few days ago i was depressed so many thoughts started coming oo but thank God for Jesus cos we can call on his name to deliver us from the plans of the evil one

NaijaScorpio said...

Nigerians suffer from depression and mental illness too.

Anonymous said...

what sort of unseen forces could have led him to this. Na wa o...itz too late to say he should have sort help but I feel sorry for his wife and kids.
www.gong-ad.com

Anonymous said...

I just myt b next... Keep u posted Linda.

kinky babe said...

wud ave allowed God intervened into d matter,cos there's nothing he(God) can't do.linda point of correction "hung" n not "hanged" 9ize wknd.

Anonymous said...

May God Almighty have mercy on us and may we live a life of worth and die faithful to God Almighty.AMEN.

mimi said...

Me thinks this guy was mentally unstable, secondly i think that anyone who commits suicide is a very wicked person. No matter wat the problem was, he could have been strong for his kids. How does he expect them to grow without a father, so wat now? If they have challenges that overwhelm them, they should take their lives too???

Why would u take your life as a christian, when u know where you'd be heading? i'm not God but this man should have reached out or cried out for help instead of taking his own life. Its really a wicked thing to put those that love u through, simply because u can't fight ur demons, (pun intended). i'm very sure that there are people going through worst things (he even had a thriving business), but they're still hoping, praying...cos when there is life, there should be hope. #pathetic

mimi said...

Me thinks this guy was mentally unstable, secondly i think that anyone who commits suicide is a very wicked person. No matter wat the problem was, he could have been strong for his kids. How does he expect them to grow without a father, so wat now? If they have challenges that overwhelm them, they should take their lives too???

Why would u take your life as a christian, when u know where you'd be heading? i'm not God but this man should have reached out or cried out for help instead of taking his own life. Its really a wicked thing to put those that love u through, simply because u can't fight ur demons, (pun intended). i'm very sure that there are people going through worst things (he even had a thriving business), but they're still hoping, praying...cos when there is life, there should be hope. #pathetic

Uchyyy said...

Is not Nigerians alone that suffer depression.. Infact, its even worse in the so called developed countries - America, Europe, Australia, especially due to the level of loneliness and isolated living in these countries.

As for the issue of unforeseen forces, they exist very well and they can attack just about anybody.
Remember Christ was also attacked by Lucipher just after his 40 days and 40 nights prayer/fasting.

Folks, we must learn to lean on Jehova, not church or religion now but practical dependence on his supernatural abilities. Its equally by Grace that we have no been made to act like this fellow.

God help us!

Nonye said...

This man was probably killed! and that letter could've been written to distract everyone...

Anonymous said...

@Madame Sting i couldn't have said it better but since i am non-nigerian i will substitute "nigerians" with "africans". its time our society woke up to this and faced it headlong instead of keeping it under the covers. The man was clearly depressed about somehting and no one noticed the warning signs.

Futo supplementary form is free said...

Whatever cause it. Whatever the man may think, he has seen against GOD.
Though, we pray that may the sweet God forgive him.
Amen.

Legendkid@ LASU released 3rd batch admission list said...

Pity pity. Pity. The mystery that surrounds this life.

Anonymous said...

@ Madame, i very well agree with u . Depression if not handled properly will lead to this like this.
I think we need more counselors and therapists in the country, also, people be told how to handle depression.

Now, i will also say that after God has blessed him with a wife and three kids, couldn't God be faithful of destroying whatever it is he says he's been suffering since childhood??

Lets all turn to God and hold to Him firmly, He will never let us down.
God be with us all.

Deep Soul said...

Maybe he found out he had AIDS and was too ashamed to admit it. His wife should go get tested asap

Anonymous said...

I smell foul play - especially with the request that his body be handed over to Lagos State Govt and that the police should not arrest anyone. Supposing he was held at gunpoint and given a written letter to copy the recipients? Something ain't right. The letter never asked for autopsy not to be carried out. Autopsy should be carried out. He's a Christian and he put a curse in a "suicide" note? Is he a pharaoh? I think he wrote those letters under duress, weakened, then hanged to make it seem he killed himself. His death should be vigorously investigated. I think someone profited from his death. I suspect his wife has a hand in his death.

jay said...

Nigerians are empty..Have you ever thought about it that this could be homicide and the killer intentionally addressed this to avoid suspicion...Nigerians think.

Anonymous said...

Depression is a serious issue that we often take for granted. There are effective ways to treat it and it is not a respecter of persons-the rich and poor can be equally affected. If you've noticed that you are constantly depressed or think of taking your life, seek help please.

dat 1 okrika babe said...

i agree with Sting, after i read the post..first thing i taught was depression. to him it was "unforseen forces" but he probably was suffering from depression.
We need more mental health outlets in naija.

Anonymous said...

things happen wort no comment .

breakthrough said...

how can he do such no matter what hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Ronny said...

So sad!

me and you! said...

@Kinky babe, na you be the real olodo here. Always check before you correct someone. Hanged is very correct in this context. You use 'hanged' when someone actually hangs himself/herself esp in suicidal cases such as this. Hung can be used as past tense for non-living obejects. Eg. I hung my bag on the rack last night. Ignoramus!

Unknown said...

forgiveness is a hope that cannot be seen but a mark on the soul that indicate righteousness of freedom. he that were the shoes knows where his paining him.

Anonymous said...

@Kinky babe...Linda was perfectly correct, the right term is 'hanged' not hung. Pls make research n good use of a proper English dictionary before correcting pple.

Anonymous said...

DEPRESSION is an illness like any other, can afflict anyone and there is treatment available. These things happen in Nigeria( has always happened) but there is the STUPID culture of silence and condemnation doesn't allow people to get help they need.
Depression can be caused by various illnesses, i.e.. brain tumour/cancers, strokes and other brain "diseases" can also present as depression.
( a concerned DOctor)

Anonymous said...

by the way you don't have to have any triggers ( i.e. financial problems) it can just happen without any triggers.

( Concerned doctor)

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