A 17-year-old student of the Offa Grammar School, in the Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, Adegoke Adeyemi, has allegedly committed suicide after failing to gain promotion to the next class in his school.
Adegoke, who was found hanging on a tree, reportedly decided to take his life because he would not be moved from Senior Secondary School 1 to SSS 2.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the student was ashamed of repeating a class.
The Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Okasanmi Ajayi, confirmed the incident in a statement on Wednesday.
He said, “The victim, Adegoke Adeyemi, 17, a student of Offa Grammar School, was believed to have hanged himself as a result of his failure to pass his promotion examination from SSS 1 to SSS 2, which necessitated his being asked to repeat the class.
“Information was received by the Divisional Police Officer, Offa, around 3.34pm on August 2, 2022, to the effect that a boy’s lifeless body was seen hanging on a tree behind Ariya Garden Hotel, Offa. A team of policemen from the divisional headquarters was swiftly drafted to the scene.
“The corpse of the deceased student was removed from the tree by a team of policemen from the divisional police headquarters, Offa.
“The corpse was taken to the Offa General Hospital for an autopsy, while an investigation has been launched into the matter.”
In another development, the police spokesman said the command made a breakthrough in the arrest of a notorious cultist, Monday Ojoagbu, who had been on the wanted list of the police.
He said the suspect and other members of his gang were on a mission to carry out another attack when he was arrested.
Ajayi said while others escaped, Ojoagbu was apprehended by the police at a supermarket where the gang was traced to around 6pm on Tuesday.
“One locally-made pistol and two live cartridges were recovered from the suspect,” he added.