Verishima Unokyur, an undergraduate of Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun, has committed suicide in his parent’s home in Mafoluku, in the Oshodi area of Lagos.

The Punch reports that the 19-year-old had on Tuesday sent a text message to his best friend, welcoming him into the New Year.

“See you in heaven,” he reportedly said at the end of the message.

It was learnt that the 200-level student of Social Work committed suicide between Tuesday and Wednesday when his corpse was discovered, by hanging himself with his tie.

His immediate younger brother, Asor, said their mother was away when the incident happened.

He said, “I was sleeping when my phone rang and when I checked, I saw that it was my mum calling. She said I should come and open the door for her. As I was coming down, I saw my brother dangling like a pendulum from where he hanged himself. That was around 7am.

“He didn’t complain about anything. But I remember that before I went to sleep, he was quiet. I asked what was wrong with him, but he said nothing. My mum had just the two of us; he was my elder brother.”

A close family friend said the victim had told his mother that he would die anytime.

He explained that the mother, took him to different prayer houses.

He said, “The two children lost their father about 15 years ago. It was their mother that had been responsible for their upkeep and she made them comfortable. She is a top employee of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.

“He had been telling the mother that he had the feeling that he would die soon.

“The mother attends one of the Pentecostal churches and so when the boy said he would die, she took him to the church and they prayed for him.

“A night to the day of this incident, the boy picked his phone and sent a text message to his best friend, wishing him a happy new year. At the end of that message, he wrote, ‘see you in heaven’. It was the following morning that his remains were found dangling from his tie.”

A former teacher of the victim, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described him as an introvert.

“When he was in secondary school, he always kept to himself. Nobody knew anything about him,” he added.

Policemen from the Mafoluku division visited the scene and took photographs of the victim before calling an ambulance to convey the corpse to a mortuary.

 

The Babcock Public Relations Officer, Joshua Suleiman, confirmed the studentship of Verishima.

He said, “The incident didn’t happen in Babcock. It happened in the deceased’s home. He was a 200-level Social Work student. From the university’s records, he was an easy-going and obedient student.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, who confirmed the incident, said the victim was pronounced dead at a hospital.

She said, “The family woke up to find his body dangling from where he hanged himself. He was rushed to a hospital where he was confirmed dead. The case is under investigation.”