by S’ola Filani

The lecturer, who was until his death, the son of a former Commissioner in the old Anambra State, Chief Cletus Opata, hailed from Nsukka area of Enugu State.

ThisDay reports it below:

Informed sources at the university said the deceased had taken his life in his apartment within the town on Saturday night but his body was discovered on Sunday.

The 38-year-old Opata, who held a doctorate in law, was said to have been employed as a lecturer in the university in 2011.

A lecturer in the Law Faculty who spoke on grounds of anonymity said though no reason had been given for the suicide, they suspected that the late Opata might have taken his own life as a result of psychological reasons.

“For some us who related with him, we knew he had psychological trauma but nobody knew it will lead to this kind of thing. In Igbo land, this is a taboo; for someone to take his own life. The father has even relocated to the village because this is shameful. For a PHD holder to be buried in such manner, that will give you an idea of the extent of the problem his suicide has created,” the source noted.

THISDAY checks revealed that his last major assignment was last Friday, a day before his death, when he served as a returning officer during the election for a new Dean of the Law Faculty.

In the said election, which reportedly ended in a deadlock, had Prof. George Amadi up against Prof. George Nnona.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Enugu State Police Command, DSP Ebere Amaraizu, denied knowledge of the unfortunate development but promised to get back once he got details.