FRIENDS and family members of a 21-year-old student of Maritime Academy Oron, Effiong Otu are at a loss why he committed suicide by hanging himself on a rope in his room on Thursday morning after he was jilted by his girl friend.
Ann, a family member told Vanguard that Effiong was found hanging in his room at Diamond Hill, a few minutes after he collected a rope from neighbours who became suspicious soon after he went inside his room with the rope wondering what he wanted to use it for.
According to the source, when his mother Grace Otu, a nurse at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital left the house at about 3pm on that fateful day, the young man borrowed a rope and killed himself.
According Ann: โThe 10th of July was the 10th anniversary of his fatherโs death in a car accident and after the anniversary and everyone had left the house including his mother, he went to a neighbour and borrowed a rope which he took to his room and hung himself.โ
Ann said: โThe neighbours became suspicious of what he was doing in his room with the rope and decided to rush there but found the door to the room locked and before they could force the door open he had died.โ
She said before he hung himself, he called one of his friends, Adu on phone requesting him to tell his girl friend, Blessing who works with the UNICEM that she should now be happy that he has killed himself for her.
โBefore his friend could rush to the house, the door had already been forced open by neighbours and Effiongโs body was hanging from the ceiling of the houseโ.
Ann stated that Effiong was an only son of the family and was given the late fatherโs name as a source of succor for the family but โhe has again left us by this thoughtless actionโ
Perhaps to give an inkling of his planned action , Effiong had posted his face book page on the 6th of July the following message โItโs not about being engaged, married or in a relationship. Itโs about being happy, safe, secured, relieved and feeling good. Itโs about peaceful state of mind, itโs about sleeping at night without the fear of losing what youโve got.
Itโs being yourself and not someone else, itโs about feeling loved, happy, respected, understood, cared for and appreciated.! Goodnight my beautiful people!!
Efforts to speak with Hogan Bassey, the Cross River State Police Public Relations Officer did not yield any success as his phone was switched off. Effiongโs body has been removed and de[posited at the mortuary of the General Hospital, Calabar.
