Folake Abiola, a 45-year-old Lagos accountant, has committed suicide.
Gatekeepers News reports that Folake allegedly drank what was suspected to be insecticide on Friday at her residence at Osapa London, in the Lekki area of Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria.
She reportedly died shortly after consuming the substance as her family members, friends and men of the Nigeria Police Force met her lying motionless.
The deceased worked with Globacom Limited, according to reports, and was said to be on leave when the incident happened.
One of her colleagues said Folake had been suffering from depression for years, adding that the news of her death was shocking.
Contrary to claims online that Abiola committed suicide due to loneliness, and lack of a husband, among others, the colleague said her associates knew that she had been in romantic relationships, adding that she ended them due to depression.
“She had been suffering from depression for years and her death has nothing to do with loneliness or lack of a husband or sex. Within the last seven years, I know she was in a relationship twice.
“She ended those relationships on her own because of depression. She said she did not want to bring someone else into her life when she could not take care of herself. She was going through extreme depression, but people that did not know what she was going through have been posting rubbish online.
“She was a senior accountant at a telecoms firm and we are colleagues. She took her life herself and was buried that same Friday as she was the only Christian in her family,” the colleague who spoke with Punch News on the condition of anonymity, said.
Folake was described by her colleagues as an angel, a conscientious accountant and a lover of Christ, who was liberal in giving, adding that she had been saying she wanted to end it all before she took her life.
“In Nigeria, we don’t pay attention to mental health; a lot of people are going through depression and it is not necessary that it has to be caused by anything,” she added.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident, saying the police visited Folake’s house and met her lifeless body on the floor.
Hundeyin said, “The moment the police in that area were alerted, they arrived at the scene and met the woman lifeless on the floor. A bottle of insecticide was also found by her, apparently, she had ingested that insecticide.
“The family members that were there officially wrote to the divisional police officer requesting for the release of the corpse to enable them to bury her in accordance with Islamic rites and the corpse was released to the family on compassionate grounds.”
