Elders of the Elekahia Community in the Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of Rivers State have handed a list of items to be purchased for the cleansing of their land by the parents of a teenager who took his own life.
NIGERIACRIME gathered that the peace of the community was halted as an 18-year-old boy, identified simply as Confidence, committed suicide on Friday.
The lifeless body of Confidence was found in their sitting room, with a rope around his neck tied to the hook of a ceiling fan around 3pm on Aholu Street, Elekahia, a densely populated area.
Speaking on the incident, a resident disclosed that the boy’s remains was discovered by one of his younger siblings who just returned from school.
According to the source, within minutes of raising alarm, the deceased’s compound was filled with residents, including people from neighbouring streets, who trooped to the scene to confirm the incident.
He stated, “I think the boy was the only son of his parents. He had two sisters. All of them just returned from the village two days ago.
“He tied a rope around his neck to a ceiling fan hook. A side stool fell beside his leg.
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“There was nobody at home, even his parents. He was home alone then. It was his younger sister that came back from school that saw him hanging like that.”
He added that the deceased’s parents almost collapsed when they news of their son’s death was broken to them by their neighbours.
Speaking further, the source said, “You know that sort of a thing is an abomination. So, an elder in the community went to inform the compound chief of what happened.
“According to tradition, the chief will inform other title holders in the community.
“They did what they needed to do before the body was brought down. Those who carried the body didn’t allow his leg to touch the ground.”
He further said parents of the deceased were handed a list of items to buy to enable the elders to perform a land-cleansing ritual “for such a thing not to happen again in the community”.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, stated that investigation was ongoing.
She stated, “Yes, I can confirm the incident. It is unfortunate and we (police) have commenced an investigation to ascertain what could have made him commit suicide.”