UPDATE | Father of 2 commits suicide, blames bad economy

Remember I told you guys about a married man who took his own life due to poverty on Thursday? Well, here's the full story...

A former Secretary of Mbiabong Village Council in the Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Ekanem Edet, aka Jolly Boy, has committed suicide.

His friend and neighbour, Mr. Okon Effiong, said the community woke up to discover Edet’s corpse dangling on a suspended rope from the roof of his apartment.

He said a note Edet left behind before taking his life attributed his action to Nigeria’s bad economy.

He told Punch that the deceased, who was married with 2 sons, had often complained about the poor state of the economy.

He said, “Jolly Boy, who deals in Ogogoro, cigarettes, and other stimulants, decided to cut short his life when it appeared he could no longer run his family with the meagre earnings from his trade.

“He was a very sociable man and always shared his thoughts on issues. I don’t know why he should consider suicide as the last option to escape from these hard times.”

He explained that Edet, who was immediately buried after some traditional rites, was discovered dead by another friend, who came to visit him on the day of the incident.

A teacher in the town, Mfonobong Ekpe, said, “He used to complain that his petty business could no longer cater to his family’s basic needs and he could not afford the school fees of his children.”

Asuquo Bassey, a pastor at his church, said, “He was always saying the bad economic policies of the government did not allow common people to afford basic commodities like bread, yam, kerosene.”

A source in the community said the victim’s family members were reluctant to call the police when they discovered the incident.

He said, “The family members were not willing to report the incident to the police in the area. When they discovered his lifeless body, they just wanted him buried and put everything behind them.”