The Gbodofon Bridge in Osogbo is where a man named Femi committed suicide on Saturday by jumping into the Osun River, according to confirmation from Osun State security services.
Prior to taking his own life, Femi had voiced grievances over hardship and unfair treatment. Femi jumped into the river on Saturday morning, according to Ibrahim Adekunle, the spokesperson for the Osun State Fire Service. At around 10:30 am, the agency received an emergency call.
Adekunle stated,
“We replied, but right now the river is overflowing and the current is fierce. Although we have made efforts and are currently searching, the body has not yet been found. The individual involved is a man, based on what we were told.
Femi’s identity as the victim was confirmed by Kehinde Adeleke, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) spokesperson in Osun State. Adeleke said that Femi had made a previous attempt at suicide, but that it was thwarted by witnesses to his acts on the bridge.
“A man named Femi, an Ilesha native and the sole son of his parents, jumped into the Gbodofon River on July 6, 2024, at precisely 10:30 am. An eyewitness claimed that before he plunged into the river, he claimed to have made the decision to take his own life after being severely abused by some people at a fast food restaurant in the Ogo-Oluwa region.
We spoke with a man who witnessed the incident during the course of the investigation.
He stated that Femi had attempted suicide before but had been driven away. Later on, he returned and declared his tiredness with life. Not long after, he leaped into the river from the top of the Gbodofon Bridge. The corpse has not been found as of Saturday night, but search operations are still on.
A vulcanizer who wished to remain nameless described himself as an eyewitness: “I was working on a customer’s tire near the bridge when I noticed a man walking down from the Old Governor’s Office end of the Osogbo/Gbongan road.” He leaped into the Gbodofon River while standing in the center of the bridge. Following the tragedy, everyone in the area was paralyzed with fear.
