A 21-year-old man, Odunare Olalekan, has allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a lagoon at Epe in the Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State.
A viral video shows Olalekan sitting on the handrail of Berger Bridge and suddenly jumping the lagoon.
A voice in the video is heard asking Olalekan what was wrong with him, but soon after, he jumped to his likely death.
Sources told Daily Trust that Olalekan, who left a one-year-old baby behind, had told his father, Mr Odunare, in the early hours of Tuesday to pray for him.
“He also told his girlfriend who is 19 years old to take care of his baby.
“Thereafter, he left to the bridge side to commit suicide by jumping inside the creek, without giving any reason for such action to his family,” a source close to the family said.
Olalekan was said to be a holder of an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) certificate and a worker at Alaro City, a mega estate along the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
“For some time now, Olalekan has been acting strangely. For more than a week, he couldn’t sleep. He just woke up yesterday (Tuesday) to say he was going. They asked him, ‘going where?’
“They tried to hold him but he overpowered the people around because he was very strong. Maybe it was a spiritual attack. But we could not ascertain that. He just woke up and said he was going and that they should pray for him.
“They held him but he overpowered them and went straight to his girlfriend’s house to tell her to take care of his child because they might not see each other again,” the family source said.
It was learnt that one of his brothers saw the viral video and notified the family about it.
“He told their father that they should not bother looking for Lekan because he saw him on Berger Bridge as he jumped into the lagoon and he must have died,” the source further said.
Another source said Olalekan died a few months after the death of his elder sister who was a student of Lagos State University (LASU). She reportedly slumped and died while taking an examination in school.
Asked why the person recording him could not save him at the scene, the family friend said, “The person that made the video was alerted by some motorists on Lekki-Epe expressway and he was walking towards him while recording but he could not catch up with him.
“The guy was far away from him. He was about to hold him when he jumped inside the river. Nobody could hold him there except somebody who can swim.”
However, it was learnt that his body had yet to be found almost 48 hours after and that rescue efforts were being hampered by the massive presence of hyacinths in the lagoon.
