My husband suffered depression for 15 years – Wife of man from Daura who committed suicide

He was in his mid 40s and an accountant in Sandamu Local Government Area of the state.

Zango Road in Daura, the hometown of President Muhammadu Buhari, became a horrible spectacle recently when a resident, Ibrahim Lawal,  penultimate Sunday snuffed life out of himself.

Daily Trust gathered that the late Lawal committed suicide after using a rope to hang himself on a tree along the road.

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Our correspondent gathered that his lifeless body was seen dangling from a tree after he had allegedly used a rope to hang himself.

He was in his mid 40s and an accountant in Sandamu Local Government Area of the state.

Family members and residents were in the dark about what must have prompted Lawal to take his own life in such a gruesome manner because he did not leave any message behind, nor shared any last moments before he embarked on the suicide mission.

This prompted some figment of imaginations by some people that his reason might not be unconnected with the current economic hardship and drug addiction.

His wife, Malama Hadiza Chedi, in a chat with our correspondent, confirmed that her late husband was under the influence of drugs for the last 15 years and may have committed the suicide due to depression.

Hadiza, who was in a pensive mood while explaining her experiences with our correspondent in an emotion-laden voice, said:

“We were married for 20 years. About 15 years ago, he took ill but we didn’t know what was wrong with him. We went to Katsina Medical Centre where a doctor examined him and said that he had malaria and found it difficult to sleep then.

“His mother was alive then. So, she took him to Damagaram in Niger Republic for a traditional medication but nothing really was discovered. We then visited one Dr Aliyu who died from COVID-19 here in Daura. When he examined him, he said that he had excess blood cells and put him on medication. But he didn’t enjoy a steady health.

“One day, I went for a naming ceremony. He promised to come and pick me in the car back home, but didn’t show up until around 9.00pm.

“Then I returned home and found the house locked. I knocked several times but there was no response. Then I asked somebody to jump in and open the gate for me.

“When I got in, I found him sleeping. I woke him up and asked him what happened and he said he was okay.

“When I prompted him further, he opened up to me that somebody gave him some drugs. But I didn’t bother to find out the nature of the drugs. But we later discovered that it was tramadol which he became addicted to.”

Hadiza also disclosed that her late husband was taken to a rehabilitation centre at Kofar Kaura in Katsina where he spent five months and was partially stabilized. But the ailment recurred shortly afterwards.  Then somebody advised him to go to Kaduna for further medication.

According to her, her  husband, being an introvert, became very disturbed when he discovered that he had become addicted to hard drugs which later led to depression.

“From then on, he hated living among people.  He was always sitting alone. We hardly sat and discuss together for one hour,” Hadiza said.

On whether he committed suicide due to poverty,  she said: “He was an accountant on Grade Level 14 in Sandmu Local Government Area. I am also working. We are both earning salaries and he is from a well to do family.

“If you look at the house where we are living, you should know that we are not living in poverty. I must tell you we are living a moderate life, and we are better off,” she said.

Hadiza recalled that on the ill-fated day,  a man came looking for the husband, while he was asleep and insisted on seeing him. So, she had to wake him up.

“When I woke him up, he went out to see the man. He returned inside  and called me into his room. Then he  asked me to give him his clothes which I had washed for him earlier. I gave them to him despite that they were  not ironed.  I asked him to wait and eat his food, but he said he would return around 2.00 pm.

“I waited till around 3.00 pm but he did not return and because I was not having a phone on me, I went to our family house to find out if he was there. Surprisingly, I met people crying only for me to discover what happened,” Hadiza said.

She lamented that though it was really sad to lose a husband with whom she had lived for 20 years, her major pain was that she didn’t know the person that  came to look for her husband and his reason for committing the suicide.

She added that even though her husband suffering from protracted depression, he still fulfilled his obligations as a husband and took good care of his family.

Hadiza said that the pains and the circumstances leading to the death of her husband would live with her for the rest of her life.

The men of the Daura Police Division were invited to remove the corpse which was later handed over to his family. Lawal was buried on the fateful Sunday in Daura according to Islamic rites.

Earlier before the incident, a resident of the town said that he saw the late Lawal on Sunday driving his car towards a mechanic workshop.

“When I asked him whether he was in the area to repair his car, he said  no. He did not say anything afterwards. He just walked away,” he said