Friends and family members of a 21-year-old student of Maritime Academy Oron, Effiong Otu are at a loss why he committed suicide by hanging himself on a rope in his room on Thursday morning after he was jilted by his girl friend. Ann, a family member told Vanguard that Effiong was found hanging in his room at Diamond Hill, a few minutes after he collected a rope from neighbours who became suspicious soon after he went inside his room with the rope wondering what he wanted to use it for. According to the source, when his mother Grace Otu, a nurse at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital left the house at about 3pm on that fateful day, the young man borrowed a rope and killed himself.
According Ann: “The 10th of July was the 10th anniversary of his father’s death in a car accident and after the anniversary and everyone had left the house including his mother, he went to a neighbour and borrowed a rope which he took to his room and hung himself.” Ann said: “The neighbours became suspicious of what he was doing in his room with the rope and decided to rush there but found the door to the room locked and before they could force the door open he had died.” She said before he hung himself, he called one of his friends, Adu on phone requesting him to tell his girl friend, Blessing who works with the UNICEM that she should now be happy that he has killed himself for her.
“Before his friend could rush to the house, the door had already been forced open by neighbours and Effiong’s body was hanging from the ceiling of the house”. Ann stated that Effiong was an only son of the family and was given the late father’s name as a source of succor for the family but “he has again left us by this thoughtless action” Perhaps to give an inkling of his planned action , Effiong had posted his face book page on the 6th of July the following message “It’s not about being engaged, married or in a relationship. It’s about being happy, safe, secured, relieved and feeling good. It’s about peaceful state of mind, it’s about sleeping at night without the fear of losing what you’ve got.
It’s being yourself and not someone else, it’s about feeling loved, happy, respected, understood, cared for and appreciated.! Goodnight my beautiful people!! Efforts to speak with Hogan Bassey, the Cross River State Police Public Relations Officer did not yield any success as his phone was switched off. Effiong’s body has been removed and deposited at the mortuary of the General Hospital, Calabar.