Emotions ran high on Saturday when the remains of an official of the
Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Tope Akinde, were seen
dangling on the pole of a billboard around Salvation bus stop, in the
Opebi area of Ikeja Local Government, Lagos State.
At the scene of the incident around 9 a.m., some residents, traders and
passersby were seen condemning the circumstances that led to Akinde’s
death.
Some other persons while staring at Akinde’s corpse that was dangling on
the pole around a mango tree, were also seen mourning over the tragic
incident.
The crowd, who were shocked by the bizarre occurrence, were said to have
prevented vehicular movements, creating gridlock in the process.
Officials of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps were said to
have visited the scene of the incident to restore normalcy by
controlling the crowd to enable vehicles to access the road to their
various destinations.
An eyewitness, Abiodun Fakemi, said he saw people staring at a tree and
thought there was a snake on it, adding that when he moved closer to the
tree, he saw the man’s remains hanging on it.
He said, “I was going to Salvation bus stop and was on a bus when I saw a
crowd of people looking at a mango tree before the bus stop. I thought
there was a giant snake on the tree, so, when I alighted, I went to the
scene and saw people taking pictures with their phone. At the scene, I
saw the man dangling on the pole of a billboard with his tongue out. The
pole was around the mango tree and it was around that part that the man
used to hang himself.
“I saw a spec used by motorcyclists in his pocket, he wore a canvass, a
jean and a black shirt. I heard one of the women that usually sweeps the
road saying that the man was a LASTMA official and I also heard some
other persons saying he was a commercial motorcyclist.”
Another eyewitness, Abraham Osime, said “the corpse had been retrieved
from where it was hanged and placed in dry drainage. A cowboy cap and a
blue rope were placed on the corpse. I suspect that the rope was what he
used to hang himself. But when I saw the corpse, I knew I know that guy
because every time I come to school, I do see him around at the back of
the Sheraton Hotel. I still saw him when he was coming back from church
last Sunday”.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana,
said a female LASTMA official informed the command of the incident,
adding that Akinde’s elder brother claimed that he had been suffering
from mental instability for a while.
He stated that the corpse had been evacuated and deposited in a mortuary.
Elkana said, “On Saturday, February 1, 2020 l, around 10.57 a.m., a
female LASTMA official, Yetunde Olajabu, came to the police station and
reported that she received a phone call from an unknown person that one
man hanged himself on a mango tree at Opebi and was later identified to
be Tope Akinde, a staff of LASTMA.
“His corpse has been deposited at IDH Hospital, Yaba mortuary by the
Lagos State Ambulance Service. Information at our disposal from the
deceased’s elder brother reveals that the late Tope Akinde had a mental
problem which the family had been managing before his death.”
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