Man Hangs Himself In Ekiti State Over Unpaid Salary Leading To Financial Difficulty

A civil servant in Ekiti State, Abolarinwa Olaoye, was reported on Wednesday to have committed suicide within the state secretariat in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.

The 49 year old man, who was a night guard at the Ekiti State Scholarship Board, was seen hanging to a clothing material from the railing of a building at the Ministry of Education, where he had reported to duty around 6pm on Tuesday.

The incident stirred reaction within the civil service, as civil servants lamented the death of the man whom they described as jovial and amiable while alive.

According to an in-law, Elizabeth Babalola, the deceased also engaged in commercial motorcycle operation and farming to support his civil service work.

Olaoye, a native of Igogo Ekiti, Moba Local Government area of the State, according to Mrs Babalola, an in-law and confidant, came to her around 4.30 pm on Tuesday and lamented the acute financial problems he had been encountering of recent.

Babalola who is the elder sister to the deceased’s wife added: “He came to me around 4.30pm on Tuesday and started lamenting that his house rent was due and that he could not pay due to irregular salary payment.

“He said he was also indebted to the government through housing and the car loans he obtained.

“He also complained about the inability to meet other financial commitments to his wife ’s family. He told me he could go ahead and do some nasty things. He told me clearly that he was tired of life.

“I tried to persuade him not to resort to anything nasty. I told him life is full of ups and downs and that he should just endure, but I never knew he would end this way”, she said.

The Executive Secretary of the Ekiti State Scholarship Board, Mr. Ayo Ajimat, confirmed that the deceased was a staff of the board before his demise.

“Yes, he was our staff. He was a very prayerful, jovial and amiable person. I didn’t understand what led to this. I didn’t know the kind of problem he had that could lead to this”, he said.

As at the time of filing this report, the body of the man was still hanging to the wall due to the insistence of some people that certain ritual be performed before he could be brought down.

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and policemen from the Police Station located at the old Iyin road came to the scene.

But they could not remove the corpse as they said they were waiting for the family from Igogo Ekiti to arrive before taking any action.