It is no longer news that 48-year-old Oluwatoyin Ruth Amusan jumped into the Lagos lagoon by Leventis a few days ago. The question being asked by all who knew her, as well as witnesses to the suicide is: What could have made her choose to end her life, and in such a gruesome manner too?
Life may not have been particularly fair on Oluwatoyin Ruth Amusan.
Born 48 years ago to the Amusan family and the first of three children, Oluwatoyin had looked forward to a good life with lots of good things in stock.
However, things did not turn out as expected as she was childless even when she died at the age of 48. She may have concluded in her heart that all hope is lost and that she may never be able to have children or live life to the full.
This may have resulted in her decision to commit suicide by jumping into the Lagos Lagoon that black Thursday. Eye witnesses say they had initially thought she was enjoying the fresh breeze from the lagoon.
They were, however, taken aback when she suddenly dived into the lagoon. Her body was taken out of the water when it floated later.
Documents in a black polythene bag found at the bank of the lagoon, where witnesses said the woman had sat down for hours before jumping into the water, include Union Bank Savings Withdrawal Voucher, Union Bank Savings Deposit Voucher and Dividend Cheque of N8, 000 issued by Union Registrars. Also, the identity card found on her revealed that she resided at No 1, Sule Street, Ijegun, Ikotun Egbe, Lagos.
Those who retrieved her body from the lagoon stated that they were not around when she committed suicide, adding that their attention was drawn to her floating body.
“We just saw her body floating at the other end and we managed to get two ladders nearby which we used to draw out her body,” one of them said. Akin Amusan, one of the contacts in her phonebook, said he is the younger brother of the deceased and that he does not reside in Lagos. He further disclosed that the deceased has been mentally ill for some time and was recently discharged from a mental institution.
Ayodele Odetola, another of her contacts, who said he is her maternal uncle, also affirmed what Akin Amusan said about the deceased. “She had been ill for a while.
She had mental problems and she was discharged from the Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital in Yaba barely two weeks ago” Was it then a case of abandonment by her family, perhaps because of the stigma attached to persons with mental health issues in the Nigerian society?
Odetola further disclosed that he was with her when she was discharged from the psychiatric hospital and was indeed the person who took her home from the hospital.
He said, “It is true she had been ill mentally and she was taken to Yaba Psychiatric Hospital for treatment and rehabilitation. She was discharged about two weeks ago. I was with her during her discharge from the hospital.
I took her to my house in Ikorodu when she was discharged and she had been staying with us since that time. She was already okay and was doing fine. We even went to church together on Sunday.
“On Monday, she said she was going to make some withdrawals from her account to renovate the house where she was living before the incidence.
When she was leaving, I asked her when she would return and she said she would not return that day and that was why we did not know on time that something had gone wrong because I was thinking that she went to her house for the renovation as she had earlier said.
I was shocked when I got the call last Thursday telling me that my niece had been found dead in the Lagos Lagoon. It is really sad.”
On what could have led to Toyin’s suicide, Odetola disclosed that she had issues that had resulted into serious depression for her. According to him, the deceased was married at a point but had some misunderstanding with her husband.
“She had some problems bothering her mind. She was married at a point but had a misunderstanding with her husband. They were on the verge of making up when she became mentally ill. She was discharged from the psychiatric hospital barely two weeks ago.”
Witnesses to the suicide speculate that the documents found on the deceased, which included share dividends of various companies supposedly owned by her father, may have contributed to her undoing.
Odetola, however, denied these insinuations emphatically, saying the relationship between the deceased and her siblings was cordial. “She had a very good relationship with her siblings and it could be described as cordial.
They got along well and interacted very well.
Toyin was a nice person and would be badly missed in the family. It is just unfortunate that things ended this way. Talking about the situation is really weighing me own. I am very sad,” Odetola said.
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