A resident of Sosanya Street, Soluyi, Gbagada area of Lagos, Daibo Davies, was feared dead on Saturday after he jumped into the lagoon from the Third Mainland Bridge inward Adeniji Adele Road.
A combined rescue team of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Marine Police, and local divers had yet to find the 21-year-old man as of 7pm on Saturday.
It was learnt that Davies had taken a Uber cab from Gbagada and on getting to the spot around 11am, he begged to the driver to stop so he could urinate.
In a jiffy, he reportedly climbed the pavement of the bridge and plunged into the water.
“Search and rescue teams have called off the search for a man who alighted from a cab on Third Mainland Bridge under the guise of trying to pee (urinate) but dived into the Lagoon at around 1100am,” the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command wrote on Facebook.
The cab, a Toyota Corolla, with the number plate, KSF 426 GB, was said to have been taken to the Adekunle Police Station, Yaba.
LASEMA General Manager, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyitolu, said Davies had stomach upset and asked the driver to halt.
An affidavit found in the car showed that the young man was born on July 22, 1998.
“A male adult, Daibo Toju Davies, male, born July 22, 1998, residing at 17 Sosanya Street Gbagada Soluyi, Lagos State, activated the Uber from Mercy Hospital, Gbagada, jumped into the lagoon. Investigation revealed that the victim informed the Uber driver of stomach upset. The driver stopped at his request; he then jumped off the bridge,” LASEMA boss said.
The cab, Toyota Corolla, KSF 426 GB, ash colour has been taken to Adekunle Police Station, Yaba. The incident reinforced how Third Mainland Bridge had become a preferred suicide spot in the state, especially in the last three years.
In March 2017, a medical doctor, Allwell Orji, had asked his driver to park on the bridge while he disembarked and hurriedly plunged into the lagoon.
A few days later, a textile dealer on Lagos Island, Titilayo Momoh contemplated suicide at the same spot but was rescued by policemen on patrol before she jumped into the lagoon.
The 65-year-old woman said he was tired of life as a result of a huge debt hanging on her neck.
In November 2018, a middle-aged man and official of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Sheriff Oladejo, went on a suicide mission on the Third Mainland Bridge.
That day, there was light traffic along UNILAG waterfront end of the bridge as a result of a vehicle that broke down on the road.
Oladejo, who was sitting at the back of a car, hurriedly opened the door, clung to the railings of the bridge and jumped into the water.
In May 2019, an unemployed Accounting graduate attempting a suicide at the spot was rescued by some RRS men. Five months later, in October 2019, LASEMA rescued one Ayinla Rilwan, who attempted to dive into the lagoon from the bridge.
