Man attempts suicide, hangs on high-tension pole for 5hrs

Scenes of a suicide attempt by a man who climbed an electric pole but was rescued by officials of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), at Adebisi Ogunniyi Crescent, Lekki Phase 1, on Thursday. Photo credit: LASEMA

There was panic around Adebisi Ogunuyi Crescent in Lekki Phase 1 area of Lagos State early Thursday morning as a man identified as Fredrick Gino climbed an electric pole to attempt suicide.
Resident of the area said that Gino who is a Cameroonian, had climbed the pole as early as 5:30 a.m. on Thursday and remained there for more than five hours.

Attempts by residents of the area to persuade him to come down from the pole failed as he insisted that he wanted to kill himself.
Gino was said to have blamed poverty and lack of food for his desire to cut his life short, as there appeared to be no hope for him.

He was later rescued by officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LSEMA), the Lagos State Fire Service and other emergency workers.
He was, however, reported injured during the operation to rescue him and he had been rushed to the Oba Elegushi Health Centre in Lekki as he was said to have resisted attempts to rescue him.

Ken Egba, an eye witness said that emergency workers initially brought a bouncing castle for the victim to fall on but that he refused to jump down.

Egba also added that the bouncing castle had to be deflated, when it appeared that Gino was not ready to come down from the pole. Not even the arrival of policemen from Maroko divisional police station could persuade the victim to come down from the top of the electric pole.

The General Manager of LASEMA, Michael Akindele confirmed the incident and added that the police would investigate the incident.

The LASEMA boss also enjoined residents to report any suspicious and unknown faces to any of the emergency numbers, provided by the state government.
Source:Tribune