Residents of Ketu area, Lagos, were thrown into confusion when a resident, simply identified as Mr. Akpan and otherwise known as Baba Precious, allegedly committed suicide.
It was gathered that the deceased, who was a resident of 7, Remilekun Street, Ketu, resolved to take his own life following his sack by his boss.
According to sources, trouble began for Akpan when his boss decided to travel out of the country on a business trip.
It was learnt that the deceased, after taking his boss to the airport, had thought that he (boss) would not return to the country soon and he, therefore, decided to sell his Lexus car.
The development led to his sack, when his boss returned unannounced early and demanded the whereabouts of his car.
The driver was allegedly threatened with an arrest if he failed to produce the car within a month.
Unable to retrieve the car from those he allegedly sold it to, he was said to have decided to take some poison.
A resident of Remilekun Street, Omotayo Badejo, said the deceased was known for his lavish lifestyle, adding that this attitude must have led to his decision to sell his boss’ car.
“Though people pity his family over what befell them, when you look at the whole thing, you will discover that he was the architect of what happened to him. How will you decide to sell your boss’ car? Even if he is no more coming back to Nigeria, you are not supposed to take such an action. He put himself in trouble and eventually he took his life,” he said.
On how he committed suicide, Omotayo said, “I heard the noise that Baba Precious had committed suicide by drinking sniper. On getting to his house, I met a lot of people there, who confirmed what happened. It was really a sad day.”
Another resident, Sarah Akinlolu, explained, “His wife had already advised him to take things easy as moves were going on to appeal to his boss for forgiveness.
“On the day he died, his wife went out after taking their kids to school, only for her to meet him dead at home. People saw the bottle of the sniper he drank with him where he died.”
One of the deceased’s former colleagues at work, Mr. Alaba Johnson, said Baba precious should not have taken such a fatal decision.
According to him, “he was later called back to work by his boss two days after he committed suicide. Unfortunately, he had taken his life.
“His boss, who didn’t know he was already late, sent people to him to forget about the car and resume work, but unfortunately, he was already dead.”
Attempts to speak with the widow of the deceased was not successful as she had yet to return to the family’s house as at the time our correspondent visited.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations officer, Superintendent Chike Oti, could not confirm the incident.
“I have not yet been informed of such a case. I will get back to you as soon as I have it,” he said.
