Guard Hangs Self Over Debt At Ekiti Secretariat

A 49-year-old night guard with the Ekiti State Scholarship Board, Abolarin Olaoye, has hanged himself on the premises of the board inside the state secretariat complex in Ado-Ekiti.

The dangling body of the father of five and native of Igogo Ekiti in Moba Local Government area of the state was discovered on Wednesday morning when workers resumed for work at the state secretariat.

Workers in the various ministries, departments and agencies gathered in groups to discuss the incident as the lifeless body of the guard, who was also a commercial motorcyclist and farmer, dangled from the railings on the first floor of an office block for hours.

Men of the Nigeria Police and Department of State Services visited the scene. However, it took some time for the law enforcement agents to bring down the corpse as they talked about the need for the family members of the deceased to witness the recovery of his corpse.

A sister-in-law to the deceased and a confidant, Mrs Elizabeth Babalola, said Olaoye came to her at about 4.30pm on Tuesday complaining that he was tired of his financial situation.

Babalola said, “He came to me around 4.30pm on Tuesday and was lamenting that his rent was due and that he was finding it difficult to renew his tenancy due to irregular salary. He said he was also indebted to the government through the housing and car loans he obtained.

“He also complained of his inability to meet other financial commitments to his wife’s family. He told me that he could go ahead and do some nasty things. He added that he was tired of life.

“I did not realise that he meant something like this. I tried to persuade him not to resort to anything nasty. I told him that life was full of ups and downs and that he should just endure, but I never knew he would end up this way.”

The Executive Secretary of the State Scholarship Board, Mr Ayo Ajimat, who confirmed that the deceased was an employee of the board, described him as “a very prayerful, jovial and amiable person.”

“I don’t understand what led him to this. I don’t know the kind of problem he had that could lead to this,” Ajimat said.