About three weeks ago, there was confusion on
Fatiregun Street in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos when a police officer,
Inspector Victor Edigbue, allegedly attempted suicide.
Edigbue, who lived alone at No 6, Fatiregun
street, was said to have been ill for some time. A neighbour described him as a
recluse.
“He kept to himself most of the time. He didn’t
have many friends, although he has lived here for a year. Before he attempted
suicide, he had locked himself in his house for about four days. He refused to
come out or talk to anyone and would not let anyone buy him food to eat. We
were scared of asking him to unlock the door because he was armed,” the man
said, on condition of anonymity.
Some residents of the area had at first allegedly
contacted the Iponri police division for help, but their initial effort was
rebuffed on the grounds that Edigbue was not a policeman.
“I wouldn’t understand why they claimed
Edigbue wasn’t a serving policeman. But from the documents and identification
that he gave to us, it was clear that he was a police inspector and he had
served in Sudan in 2010,” the neighbour added.
After several futile attempts to get the Iponri
division to rescue Edigbue, a resident eventually contacted the police at the
Kam Salem House on Moloney Street.
“The landlord association and residents did all
they could to save Edigbue because we didn’t want him to die. So, we contacted
Kam Salem House and I learned they also spoke with the Iponri Police Division
to rescue Edigbue from harming himself. In fact, I was told that it was
actually the IG who was later told that instructed the Iponri division to
attend to Edigbue,” he continued.
CRIME DIGEST gathered that though a team
of policemen eventually visited the house, Edigbue rebuffed all entreaties to
open up his flat. Instead, he requested the services of a doctor.
The neighbour said, “We told him that there was
no way a doctor would agree to attend to him while he was armed with a gun. We
tried to get across to Edigbue’s landlord who is also a medical doctor, but he
wasn’t even in the country at the time. The policemen couldn’t do anything for
him and they left.
“Eventually, after four days, Edigbue finally
came out of his house. By that time, he had hurt himself. When he went back
into his house again, he locked himself in for two days before finally
attempting suicide on Nov. 6.”
Edigbue had allegedly stabbed himself in the neck
with a knife in the early hours of Nov. 6. It took the combined efforts of his
neighbours and the police to break into his flat and rush him to a hospital.
“I don’t like to recall the events of that night.
Edigbue almost killed himself. It was a gory sight. We were lucky to get him to
the hospital in time. A neighbourhood pharmacist later told me that Edigbue was
suffering from cerebral malaria. He said a patient suffering from the ailment
could go crazy.
“Although he is recuperating at the Lagos
University Teaching Hospital, we are still worried. Nobody has been able to
reach his family members or friends because we don’t even know them. I noticed
the picture of a woman and child in his flat, though they never came to visit
him. It is possible that his family is unaware of his present condition. It will
be dangerous for Edigbue to leave the hospital and go back to living alone like
before; he needs his family around him until he is fully recovered,” the source
said.
When CRIME DIGEST contacted the Lagos
State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ngozi Braide, she confirmed the
incident.
“Edigbue is a serving policeman with the Nigeria
Police Force. A few weeks ago, the Iponri police division were alerted by
Edigbue’s neighbours, of his attempts to cut his neck with a knife; he had
locked himself in his house. They responded to the call and were able to rescue
him. Edigbue is currently at LUTH receiving medical attention.”
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