National Open University Student Commits Suicide In Kaduna

A student of the National Open University in Kaduna, Joy Daniel, has reportedly committed suicide in her home in Kaduna.

Confirming the development to THE WHISTLER, the father of the deceased student, Mr. Daniel, who lives in Suleija, Niger State, said his daughter, who also worked as a cleaner at 44 Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna, died yesterday under mysterious circumstances.

Daniel said he arrived in Kaduna on Thursday after he got the news of his daughter’s death.

He said her neighbours told him she was in good spirits when she came home on Wednesday and didn’t know how she died or what killed her.

But he was told that they “met her struggling with her life, lying down crying of severe stomach ache.

“They said she was rushed to the hospital and they went round several hospitals, but each hospital they went to she was rejected, saying they couldn’t handle her case. Before they could reach a hospital that finally accepted them, she gave up and died.”

In one of her chats with a friend before she died seen by THE WHISTLER, she had stated: “Am very tired of so many things.”

Giving an insight into what could have pushed her to suicide, Daniel said his late daughter was troubled by different issues. She also called him before she committed suicide but he missed her call.

He said: “On Tuesday, I was in the office and plugged my phone to charge when I later came and saw 3 missed calls from different people. I returned the calls, but sincerely speaking, God is watching me, I didn’t reply to her missed call because when I called the other two, we got talking too much and I forgot to call her back. Even yesterday I was going through my phone and saw her missed call.

“So, truthfully, she had problems. Anyway, let’s just leave it at that, what has passed has passed. Let’s pray for God’s forgiveness upon her, that’s all.”

Apart from the issues he would like to keep secret, Daniel also found out that his late daughter had other problems.

“I was told that she had problems with her accommodation; her rent had expired since January and she couldn’t tell me about it because we were not on good terms.

“Before now, if she had issues, she will tell me and I will send the little I have on me.

“Where she was schooling, I was also told she was owing school fees. So, everything was much on her,” Mr Daniel said sadly.

However, the late Joy who hailed from Bangaje in Gombe State, chatted with some of her friends and informed them she was contemplating suicide.

Forgive Me If You Hear Of My Death

Job Jerry Kato was one of the friends Joy contacted before taking her own life.

Kato told THE WHISTLER that she chatted with him on WhatsApp on 30th June, saying: “Hi, if you hear about my death, find it in your heart to forgive me.”

Kato said: “Since she sent me that farewell message, I was not able to reach her on the phone again until yesterday when Nerissa, the person I sent her number to you, told me that someone called her and told her that Joy is late.”

According to Kato, he could not also contact her family to report the chat between them but had called Nerissa Shibbi, her neighbour in Gombe, to contact her mother who lives in the city.

“I told Nerissa to reach out to any of her family and tell them to ask Joy to come back home because I was suspecting she wanted to commit suicide,” he said.

When THE WHISTLER contacted Shibbi, she said she couldn’t contact any member of her family because she thought it had become a habit for her to make social media posts on life.

However, she revealed that the deceased student had also told her siblings about her suicide plans.

The case has not been reported to the police in Kaduna, according to the family.

Editor’s Note: If you are in Nigeria and you or a loved one have contemplated suicide, call National Emergency Hotlines at 112 or Nigerian Suicide Prevention Initiative Counselling Centre at 0806 210 6493 to connect with a trained counselor.

For support outside of Nigeria, a worldwide directory of resources and international hotlines is provided by the International Association for Suicide Prevention.