Undergraduate commits suicide in Bayelsa

A 200-level student of History and Diplomacy at the Federal University Otuoke (FUO), Bayelsa State, Arikekpar Lucky, has committed suicide to escape being tagged as a “failure” in his academic pursuit by members his family.

Daily Trust learnt that the deceased, a one-time aspirant of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Student Representative, Central Zone, took his life at the wee hours of Monday.

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The 27-year-old student, who hailed from Otuakeme community in Ogbia Local Government Area, hung himself with a rope tied to a ceiling fan after locking the door and windows.

A source in the university community who preferred anonymity said this is not the first time the deceased had attempted to take his life, saying he had made such attempts twice last year.

When contacted, a family member who pleaded anonymity, said the family would have taken the matter seriously but with the suicide note he left behind, they had to accept the situation and move on.

He said: “The young man has been buried according to the tradition of the Ogbia people when such tragic incidents occur.”

The police spokesman in Bayelsa State, SP Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident but said that no official report had been made at the command headquarters.

The Public Relations Officer of the university, Mercy Ekort, who also confirmed the incident, told journalists that the body of the student had been retrieved by the family.