The peaceful neighborhood of Ekondo Street in Calabar was left in shock and disbelief when news broke about the tragic suicide of a 14-year-old boy named Donald. Residents were left agitated and struggling to comprehend how a young boy could have taken his own life using nothing but a shoelace.
Donald resided with his grandmother at 49 Ekondo Street in Calabar South, and on a fateful Saturday afternoon, he was discovered lifeless, having apparently hanged himself by tying a shoelace around his neck.
According to one of his friends, named Eyo, the boy had completed his morning chores that Saturday morning and then went to buy cassava meal, locally known as fufu. However, this errand would be the last time anyone heard from or saw Donald.
Eyo recounted, “After going to buy the fufu, nobody heard from him again until about 12 noon when the grandmother called a carpenter to help bring the boy down from where he was found, leaning against a wall with a rope around his neck.”
The situation left many puzzled and deeply disturbed. There was no table or object in the vicinity on which the boy could have climbed to fix the noose around his neck. Moreover, the string used was nothing more than a simple shoelace.
When the carpenter arrived and inquired about the situation, the boy’s grandmother failed to provide any coherent explanation, which led to the carpenter fleeing the scene to raise the alarm. Only then did neighbors gather inside the compound. Despite the tragic scene, nobody dared to touch the boy’s lifeless body.
Another resident expressed confusion over the circumstances, saying, “There is no way the boy could have used that tiny rope to hang himself without the shoelace breaking.”
Since the incident, the same resident claimed to be plagued by nightmares, continually seeing the boy in his dreams. “We were very close, and since Saturday afternoon when I saw him leaning on that wall with a rope around his neck, each time I sleep, I see him, and he keeps asking for justice. All these are happening because the boy is an orphan. His dad and mother are both dead.”
When Vanguard reporters visited 49 Ekondo Street, they found the gate locked, with neighbors stating that the occupants had gone to church. Ms. Irene Ugbo, the spokesperson for the Cross River Police Command, stated that she had yet to receive a detailed briefing on the matter and would likely provide more information during the Monday briefing, as the incident occurred on a Saturday.