Man allegedly drinks poison, jumps into river in Lagos

There was confusion in Salvation Avenue in the Ajegunle, Ikorodu area of Lagos State, when the corpse of a man was found by the riverside.


It was learnt that the deceased, Bolaji Waheed, was found around 1.30pm at the bank of the Itowolo River with a bottle containing a substance suspected to be poison.

Our correspondent gathered that 52-year-old Waheed had been declared missing on Saturday after his family members could not find him.


It was also learnt that Waheed’s dead body was found by the riverside on Monday, which caused confusion in the area.

A police source said Waheed was believed to have taken the poison and plunged into the river.

The matter was said to have been reported at the Owode Police Division, which took the corpse to a morgue.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that a pastor in the area saw the corpse by the riverside and alerted the others.

She said, “Pastor Ajiboye, who has a church in our area, was the one who reported the matter at the police station.

“The deceased had been missing for two days. He left home on Saturday and failed to return, which caused apprehension in his household. His family members searched the whole area to no avail.

“The man did not leave any note behind. So, the family members thought he was picked up by unknown persons and they reported to the police. But we were shocked that it turned out that the man committed suicide. He was found at the bank of the river on Monday. He was foaming in the mouth.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident.

She said, “We are investigating a case of suicide. The man was found with a substance suspected to be poison investigation is ongoing.”