Late Dr Orji first attempted killing himself 4 years ago - Witneses

Before he finally succeeded in taking his life on Sunday, March 19 by jumping into the Lagos lagoon, Allwell Orji, a medical doctor, had earlier attempted to kill himself.

Dr Orji reportedly stopped while on the Third Mainland Bridge before jumping into the lagoon

Orji, 35 years old, took his life by jumping into the lagoon after allegedly asking the driver of his car to stop. Efforts to recover his body have so far proven abortive.

Daily Sun reports that the young doctor had attempted to kill himself four years ago, claiming this was made known by neighbours at the family residence of the victim located on Odunukan street, Ebute-Ejigbo, Yaba area of Lagos.

According to the report, Orji was saved then by neighbours.

“Four years ago he attempted to kill himself and, thereafter, had tried doing so on a number of times. Since then, his family had been monitoring him.

“We don’t know the kind of sickness he was suffering from, but we knew he was being monitored. That was why he was assigned a driver to take him around.

“He was such a gentle boy, who never made any trouble. His family has lived on this street for long; his father died four years ago.

“Perhaps the driver who drove him didn’t know about his condition because he was engaged about three months ago,” a neighbor said.

The report added the victim’s colleagues at the Mount Sinai Hospital on Plot 32, Olanibe street, Papa Ajao, Mushin, Lagos, where he worked have remained pensive since the incident happened.

The report quoted the chief medical director of the hospital, Adedoyin Adeniran, as expressing sadness but saying: “We don’t want to conclude that he is gone, more so when his body has not been found. It is only his family that can speak on that.”

A staff of the hospital also said: “Dr Orji was such a dedicated person. He was the firstborn of his family. He was a thoroughbred doctor who paid profound attention to the very minute things in Medicine.

“He was such a quiet person and at the same time very active.

“He was most preferred by our patients. In fact, when some patients came here and he had not arrived, they would wait for him.

“He was sure to get to the root of things by asking penetrating questions. That was his trademark and why he was so much loved.

“Last Friday, he was here and we all played with him. We jocularly asked him to go and eat but he said he was going to see his patients in the ward. But we literally forced him to do so.”

Another staff called him “an easy-going person. He was every lady’s man. Last Friday, when he was here, he showed no signs that he was going through any form of challenges.

“His mother is a director in one of the banks. She was always coming to check on him.

“He was such a happy person and the favourite doctor among our patients. He would listen to his patients and spend long hours with them.

“Even after treating his patients, he always called on them to find out how they were doing. He had personal relationships with them.

“The vehicle he was actually riding in belonged to his mother. Oftentimes, the driver used to bring him to work and came to pick him. It was sad that he had to take his own life.”

At the time of this story, efforts by the Lagos state Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA) was still on to recover the victim's body.