Daniel Mba, a 300 level student in the department of biochemistry Department, at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN, has committed suicide after plunging from the third-floor of a four-storey building.
Mba jumped to his death on Friday at his lodge located in Onuiyi, an off-campus favourite for students at about 11:30 pm after the poisonous substances he injected didn’t prove effective.
It was gathered that the deceased who was 21 was earlier caught while cheating during one of the departmental examination and his script was torn by a lecturer.
His phone was also seized while he was given another script to start afresh.
An occupant who identified herself as Nkechi Abo disclosed that when the incident happened, they rushed to the deceased room where they discovered rat poison, bleach containers and syringes used by the deceased to end his own life, Vanguard reports.
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Another occupant, Christabel Opkara, said that they alerted the caretaker of the lodge when they discovered the naked body of the deceased struggling for life after jumping from the third floor, adding that he was rushed to the Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka where he died later in the early hours of Saturday.
The caretaker of the lodge who pleaded for anonymity disclosed that he reported the incident to the police after every attempt to revive him failed in the hospital.
He also said “A friend who stayed with him when he regained consciousness in the hospital said he complained of frustration with his last examination encounter and financial hardship. He told him that his family was not giving him enough money for upkeep. He said he was bitter that the lecturer also seized his phone.
“When I rushed to the lodge, I saw him on the floor clutching a kitchen knife. We immediately rushed him to the hospital and he was given immediate medical attention.
“We later returned to his room where we discovered rat poison and bleach. We also saw syringes on the floor. We also saw a rope tied to his ceiling fan.
“He is a loner because I have not seen him with any friend since he parked into the lodge. I was surprised that one girl who identified herself as Scholastica showed up as his girlfriend. I think he must have been suffering depression silently.”
Confirming the incident, the President of the Nigerian Society of Biochemistry Students, UNN chapter, Silas Ijaja, said, “the information reaching me through the closest person is that the guy attempted to kill himself with corrosive chemical, relaxer and strong ethanol he mixed and drank but it did not work.
“He then used a rope to hang himself from the balcony of his room where he fell from and fractured his leg. He was rushed to the hospital and confirmed dead on Saturday.
“It is obvious he died of depression over the incident that happened in the exam hall on Wednesday. It may not also be unrelated to his inability to cope with the pressure of the ongoing examination.
“We have a lot to read and write this period and it is driving so many students into depression”.
