The
mysterious death of a nine-year-old boy, who allegedly committed
suicide, has thrown residents of Tundun-Wada, in the Jos North Local
Government Area of Plateau State, into confusion while law enforcement
agents are still battling to unravel the circumstances behind the
incident.
Family
members and other people who live in the same house with the deceased
are still wondering why Henry Goodnews, a Primary 1 pupil, would decide
to take his own life.
Saturday
Tribune gathered that the incident occurred at about 11:00 a.m. on
Tuesday when the deceased’s parents had both gone out. His body was said
to have been found dangling from a rope within the premises by one of
the occupants.
The
incident created a lot of hysteria in the area, with people wondering
how the young boy was able to take his own life successfully without
anybody seeing him. The position they found the boy was also a source of
concern to those who thronged the house to catch a glimpse of the body.
Saturday
Tribune gathered that the body of the boy was found with a belt wound
around his neck. The belt itself was tied to a rope usually used for
drying clothes after washing. A bucket of water was also said to have
been found beside him, which suggests that perhaps he was about to take
his bath before the incident.
The
mother of the deceased, Madam Hanatu Goodnews, who is yet to recover
from the shock occasioned by the death of her first son, said the
incident was still like a dream to her.
She told Saturday Tribune that the boy was hale and hearty when she left home that day.
She
said: “I left home that morning to take his younger brother to the
hospital. Before I left, I told him to stay at home and do some domestic
work that he could handle. I had no premonition that anything would
happen to him because he was doing well that particular morning.
“At
about 12 noon, I was called by my husband that my boy had died. He did
not explain the circumstance of his death to me. I therefore abandoned
what I was doing and rushed home.
On
getting home, I saw a lot of people in front of our house. As I
approached, they stopped me from entering but I forced myself in, only
to discover the boy with a rope around his neck.
“My
major concern now is how the boy could take his own life by himself and
the people in the house did not know. In this house, there has never
been a time that people would not be around. There will be at least up
to six people at home. How come the boy took his own life and nobody was
aware?”
A
relation of the husband, identified as Bala Goodnews, also asked a
similar question. He told Saturday Tribune that they suspected foul play
in the whole thing, saying that the way the boy hanged from a rope
that, according to him, could not sustain any object, was suspicious. He
maintained that there was no way the boy would hang himself in such a
manner, considering his strength and age.
Bala
Goodnews urged the police to probe the incident, saying the way it
happened called for thorough investigation. He urged the police to
spread their dragnet to ensure that the perpetrators of the dastardly
act were brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others.
Saturday
Tribune gathered that residents of the area where the incident occurred
are currently living in fear of arrest by the police. A source close to
the house disclosed that all the tenants in the house where the
incident occurred, including the landlord of the house who does not even
reside there, were interrogated on Wednesday at the ‘A’ Division of the
Nigeria Police command, Jos. Some people in the neighborhood are also
said to have gone into hiding to avoid arrest.
When
contacted, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Salawu
Adigun, who confirmed the incident, said the police had commenced full
investigations, but said he would not make further comments on the issue
until investigations were completed.
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