Lagos Building Collapse: Woman Commits Suicide After Losing Two Children

●It’s painful seeing my son in critical condition, cries mother

●‘My sister’s 18-month-old son died in crèche’

By Taiwo Jimoh and Muritala Ayinla

A
mother, who lost her two children in the collapsed structure on
Wednesday, committed suicide after she received news of the death of the
children. The woman, it was learnt, gave birth to the two children, who
were between the ages of six and four, through Caesarean Section (CS).
When our correspondent visited her house at Gambari area of the Island,
her husband refused to speak. However, some neighbours said the woman
bought a bottle of insecticide called ‘Sniper’.

“Nobody knew
what she wanted to do with the Sniper. But a few minutes later we saw
the bottle beside her where she was sleeping. By the time people got
there she was already dead,” a neighbour, who craved anonymity, said.
Sympathisers, however, thronged their house to condole with the husband
and family members. Hundreds of teachers and students from different
private schools yesterday marched on the site of the collapsed building.
One of their grievances was that schools should have been given holiday
to mourn dead pupils and teachers.

They also called on the
government to pull down every distressed building on the Lagos Island to
check further loss of lives. Meanwhile, a mother, Yetunde, whose son
was injured in the three-storey building which collapsed was too
traumatised by the sight of the boy lying critically in the hospital
bed. She had not sat down for over nine hours. She had been moving from
one corner of the Lagos Island General Hospital to the other in search
of the prescribed drugs and other needs demanded by the doctors. Yetunde
is one of the lucky parents, whose children were pulled out of the
rubble alive.

The boy survived the injuries and traumatic
experience. His two legs were in Plaster of Paris (POP).Recollecting the
event of the past 24 hours, Yetunde said that she was the person that
dressed the boy for school.

She had already left the house, when
she received a call that the school, which her son attends, had caved
in, leaving many children trapped. She called on well-meaning Nigerians
to pray for the speedy recovery of her son. The woman who refused to
give the name of her son, busted into tears whenever she made attempt to
speak.

Among the visibly disturbed women at the Island General
Hospital was a lady who gave her name as Taiwo Jimoh. Jimoh, who was
among those resuscitated by the staff of the General Hospital following
the shock from the tragic incident, said she was in the hospital to
commensurate with her sister, whose three children were involved in the
collapsed building.

She said: “Samiat, Rodiyat and Roqib are my
sister’s children. One of the children, who were a year and six months
old, died at the Massey Children’s Hospital. My sister’s children are
Samiat Afolabi (six), Rodiyat Afolabi (10) and Roqib Afolabi
(18-month-old). We lost Roqib in the incident. Roqib was the only son
and youngest among the children. Roqib was aged 18 months. He was in the
crèche of the school.

Source:- Newtelegraphonline