Updates: The family of suicide doctor wants to be left alone

Lagos State, was enveloped in distress.on Monday, following the death of a resident , Dr Allwell Orji, who jumped into the lagoon on the Third Mainland Bridge.

Residents approached by our
correspondent, who visited the area on Monday, directed him to the doctor ’s family house.

The family members, however , declined comments on the circumstances surrounding the incident , saying they were in mourning.

Thomasloaded had reported that Orji, a medical doctor , was being driven in his Sport Utility Vehicle en route to Lagos Island at about 4pm on Sunday.

He was said to have told his driver to stop after allegedly receiving a call.

The unmarried doctor disembarked
from the car, headed for the railings at the edge of the bridge and jumped into the lagoon.

Asked what could have informed Orji’s decision, a resident , who did not give her name, said, “ I don ’t know the cause.

All I know is that doctor was friendly
and nice to everybody.

“ He was single and was living with his mother. You can meet his family
members. They are in the best position to explain what might lead to the incident .”

A middle- aged man , who addressed journalists on behalf of the Orjis outside the family ’s residence, stated that they did not want to speak on the suicide.

He said the family members were
already inundated by the media and
wanted to be excused from making
comments.

The man , who did not identify himself , said, “ We are mourning and we don’t want to see any journalist around . We want you to respect the family . We lost a young man ; we don’ t have any cause to be happy . ”

However, our correspondent overhead a distressed woman , saying the driver should have informed the doctor ’s mother before they went out on Sunday.

“ After he jumped into the lagoon , he
(the driver ), didn’ t call to tell us what happened ,” she added .

LASEMA officials and a team of marine policemen were still searching for Orji’ s body.

The LASEMA General Manager , Mr .
Adesina Tiamiyu, stated that fishermen around the area had been informed to alert emergency agencies if they found the body in any part of the lagoon.

He said, “ The body has yet to be
recovered. The marine police and the
local divers are still searching the
lagoon .”