The lifeless body of a 53-year-old man was on Friday found inside a well of a house he was residing in at Kadupe Street, Alakuta Community, at Apete, Ibadan, Oyo State.
According to information gathered by Saturday Tribune, the deceased, who hailed from Abia State, was suspected to have ended his life as a result of depression he had been undergoing because of his blindness which was caused by glaucoma.
The deceased was said to be a cab driver before becoming blind, making the wife responsible for catering for the family.
The father of one reportedly went to bed with his wife on Thursday, but got up before dawn while she was still sleeping.
The wife, who went to report the incident, told the police that she didn’t know when he got up, but discovered an empty space beside her at daybreak.
Saturday Tribune learnt further that the wife began a frantic search for her husband and raised an alarm when it was unsuccessful, prompting community members to join in the search.
One of the neighbours was said to have suddenly noticed that the lid of the deep well of the house was open, prompting them to ask the wife if the family had fetched water that morning, to which she replied in the negative.
It was then that it dawned on the wife that the key to the well was kept by her and she didn’t know who could have opened it. She also went to where the key was kept but could not find it.
The people rushed to open the well and saw the floating body of the man they had been searching for.
When the matter was reported at Apete Police Station by the wife, detectives, led by the Divisional Police Officer, swiftly moved to the scene where they beheld the floating body of the deceased.
It was further gathered that it took the efforts of the community members to bring the remains of the deceased out of the well.
The body of the deceased has been deposited in the mortuary at State Hospital, Adeoyo, Ring Road, Ibadan, for autopsy.
When contacted, the Oyo State Police Command’s spokesman, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, confirmed receiving a report of suspected suicide, saying that an investigation had been launched into the case.
