Residents of Lokoja , the state capital , were shocked when they discovered that Soje , a director in the state civil service , had committed suicide on a tree within the town using a rope.
The 54 - year- old late director allegedly decided to take his life barely 10 days that his wife gave birth to a set of male triplets in a private hospital in Abuja after 17 years of childlessness .
Soje , who hailed from the Ogori / Magongo Local Government Area of Kogi State , was a Grade Level 16 Officer in the State Teaching Service Commission and was owed 11 months ’ salary arrears as of the time he took his life .
He was said to have earlier travelled to Abuja and left a suicide note for his wife , who also works in one of the federal ministries in the state .
The suicide note reads , “Psalm 121: 3 says God will not suffer your foot to be moved . He that keepeth you will not slumber . Amen . You and the three boys , God Almighty will keep you prosperous . Amen . I love you . ”
Confirming the incident , the state Police Public Relations Officer, William Aya , said the dangling body of Soje was found on a tree behind the barracks at about 5 . 55 pm on October 16 .
Aya said the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Area ‘ D ’ division received the information about the incident from the military intelligence office in the barracks .
He said , “ Policemen moved to the scene , removed the corpse and took it to the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre in Lokoja . Investigation is ongoing . ”
Aya added that nothing was found on the deceased to assist in tracing his address and family .
However , our correspondent gathered that a search party organised by his relations and friends , found his corpse at the morgue of the hospital on October 20 .
Family sources said Soje had , before the incident , been going through a lot of financial crisis due to the non - payment of his salary for 11 months by the Kogi State Government.
He was among thousands of workers being owed between two and 21 months ’ salary arrears by the government.
Soje was said to have sold his only car and a three - bedroom bungalow he was building at the Otokiti area of Lokoja at a point in order to meet his financial obligations to his family .
He was said to have sold the uncompleted building for N1 . 5 million in April to meet an urgent family obligation .
According to sources , Soje ’ s financial woes became compounded when the wife gave birth to a set of triplets through Caesarian section in a private hospital in Abuja on October 7 .
The deceased remained in the hospital to look after his wife and children until Oct . 13 , a day before the naming ceremony when he decided to return to Lokoja .
On getting to Lokoja , Soje was said to have gone straight to his bank to collect the remaining N30 , 000 in his account and thereafter informed his bankers in writing about his decision to close the account .
He was said to have left Lokoja for the hospital in Abuja , where he handed over the N30 , 000 to his wife.
A source added that Soje and his wife were joined by two pastors and a few relatives to perform a brief naming ceremony for the triplets in the hospital .
He later left the hospital on the pretext that he wanted to pick a few things from the wife’ s apartment in Abuja with a promise to come back quickly.
But Soje did not come back for hours and did not pick any of the numerous calls made to his telephone , a development which forced the wife to send somebody to the house to ascertain what was happening to him .
The person was said to have sought the assistance of neighbours to force the door open .
When the door was opened , the people were surprised to see Soje ’ s telephone placed on a suicide note on the table in the sitting room while he was nowhere to be found .
When the wife was informed , she quickly contacted some people to begin a search for him in Abuja while relations and friends in Lokoja were also informed of the development .
Efforts made to locate him did not yield result until relatives decided to visit hospitals in Lokoja . The decision paid off eventually on Friday , October 20 , when the corpse of Soje was found in the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre , Lokoja .
A member of the family said the management of the hospital explained to them that Soje ’ s corpse was brought in by the police, who found it dangling on a tree .
A family member, who spoke on condition of anonymity , described the late Soje as a “ very quiet and lovable human being . ”
Punch
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