The Kogi State police command on Monday claimed that the director in the state civil service, Edward Soje, who committed suicide last week had a partial stroke before he died.
The command, however, said it would conduct a comprehensive autopsy on the body of the deceased to ascertain the particular cause of his death.
Addressing newsmen on Monday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Kogi state command, Williams Aya, said the command has decided to conduct an autopsy to ascertain what actually led to his death.
He said a report received from the Division Police Officer (DPO) where the case was first reported showed that Sodje was suffering from partial stroke, following which he was on drugs.
Aya, upon further probe, however, said there was no medical report or document to back up the claim as it was only through an investigation conducted by the police.
When asked further how it was possible for a stroke patient to climb a tree and hang himself, the PPRO said the investigation was still ongoing.
The late Soje’s body was last week Thursday found hanging on a tree beside Mammy market at the Maigumeri housing the Nigeria Army Command Records, Lokoja.
The incident happened few days after his wife gave birth to triplets in a hospital in Abuja after 17 years of marriage.
Aya noted that as at the time the military found his body hanging on a tree, there was no suicide note on him that would have explained the circumstances of his death.
The police image maker that investigation has commenced and very soon they will get to the root of the matter.
The late civil servant took his own life following what family sources called series of financial challenges as he was said to be owed 11 months salary.
But the state government said he was only owed nine months as he was last paid in December last year, according to the Head of Service of the state, Deaconess Deborah Ogunmola.
According to her, Soje continued to receive his salaries till December, 2016 even while the Staff Screening and Verification Exercise was ongoing.
She said his salary was stopped after proof emerged that he falsified his age records.
Credit: Tribune
