A fisherman in Akwa Ibom State, after losing all his fishing gears including outboard engine and his catch to boat mishap, has reportedly committed suicide.
The fisherman, Imoh Iyip-Erong, an indigene of Akpautong village in Esit Eket Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom, was said to have “resorted to taking his own life, a night after the incident because of the frustration of losing his major source of livelihood”.
“We really don’t know why he should take his own life after his fishing boat and the day’s catch were lost as his boat capsized”, Effiong Bassey, a fellow fisherman told Vanguard.
According to a family source, “Iyip-Erong had been complaining since the incident happened, lamenting that his future had been completely ruined by the loss of his boat with outboard engine and fishing gears.
“We woke up to see his dangling body hooked to the roof with his wife wrapper, which he used as suicide rope.”
A family source who could not be consoled, “his remains had been buried after some traditional sacrifice was performed because it is an abomination for one to take his own life in this our community.”
He expressed surprise that the father of four could willingly take his own life after the mishap, instead of sinking with the boat to save them the trouble of performing very expensive traditional sacrifice for his burial.
A traditionalist, Ubong Edem Ette, “In this type of death, we use a dog and other traditional items to perform some cleansing rites to remove this nature of death from the family.’’
The Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr. Zubairu Muazu, when contacted on phone on the matter, could only reply with a text message thus: “I am in a meeting.”
Security sources from the State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), who would not want his name in print, lamented that “from the record, Akwa Ibom ranks high in suicide cases, murder and manslaughter.”
