N.O.U.N Student Commits Suicide

Two days(2nd June 2012) after Mr Ayodeji Balogun was caught cheating during a paper in his final examinations in the National Open University (NOUN) Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, the 27-year old final year student allegedly committed suicide.
Ayodeji, however, made his intention to take his own life known to his friends through a post on his Facebook wall.
He was allegedly caught cheating while writing the Business Management examination last
Saturday.
The first son in a family of three then went ahead and hanged himself on a mango tree inside an uncompleted building beside his father’s compound.

Ayodeji, an ex-student of CMS Grammar School, Bariga, at about 6:13 p.m. on Monday posted his suicide note on his Facebook wall: “what they said about me is not true in school, but God knows better. Thanks we see at the end, I luv u all.”
At 8:04 p.m. that same day, he again updated the wall with “why me” before killing himself early Tuesday morning.
The sad incident which occurred at the victim’s family’s Oluwaga residence at the Ayobo-Ipaja Local Council Development Area of the state, has since thrown the entire community into confusion and mourning.

The deceased, We reliably gathered, tricked his mother into going for a vigil in their church and also ensured that his aged father was fast asleep before committing the dastardly act.
His father, Pa Balogun, while speaking on the sad development, said that since he noticed his son’s queer behaviour few days ago, he had made several efforts to ensure that the introvert disclosed what was bothering him to no avail.

“He told me he was not feeling fine and I tried my best possible afterwards to know what was troubling him but he won’t say a word.. I asked if he would like to see the doctor and he said no.
“He even went behind my back to stop the person I asked to go and bring a nurse to treat him.
“When it was around 8 p.m. on that Monday, he was the one that asked his mother if she was not going for vigil before she prepared herself and left for church.
“We were together outside the house till 9 p.m. before we decided to go in and sleep and I was monitoring his movements all through the night.
“Twice I caught him trying to sneak out of the house at odd hours and I stopped him. On the two occasions, he told me he wanted to ease himself and I ensured that he returned to the house.
“He was able to perpetrated the devilish act because I slept off when the rain started.
“I woke around 2am and I couldn’t find him where he was sleeping. I searched everywhere but still couldn’t find him and I rushed outside to look for him within the premises.
“Lo and behold, I saw my son’s lifeless body dangling on the mango tree where he hanged himself and I shouted for help.

“In the morning, we reported the matter at the Ayobo Police Station and they came to take his photographs and cut the rope he used to hang himself.
“I have since put the incident behind me because that was how he chose to live his own life,” he said.

His friends who spoke with newmen on condition of anonymity while consoling his parents at their residence, said that the deceased did not tell them that he were caught cheating during the examination. They told our correspondent that they got wind of it after the news had spread all over the campus that he had committed suicide
“When we got the news, we gather ourselves and vowed to cause commotion in the school premises. We first of all approached the lecturer that was said to have caught him cheating in the exam and the man was crying as he was narrating what transpired between them on the said day to us.
“He told us that what happened between them did not warrant him taking his life in the most cruel manner. He even told us that he was not even taking the issue with utmost seriousness.
“The lecturer told us he caught him red handed with the ‘expo’ in his wallet and he seized it from him. He told us further that Ayo came back afterwards and wrestle the stuff from him and he became furious and said he will take the issue up with him.

“Throughout that day in school, he did not tell us anything of such happened, even though we noticed that he was not feeling his usual self. He was the type that did share his problem with his friends. We have stayed together for four years on campus, yet we don’t know much about him because he likes keeping to himself despite being jovial and friendly,” one of his colleagues in school told newsmen.