The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS), Federal Capital Territory Command, has commenced an investigation into an alleged suicide by a 43-year-old businessman, Obinna Echianu inside the Kuje prison, Abuja.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Humphrey Chukwuedo, disclosed this on Monday night.
“The body has been taken to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital for an autopsy to determine the cause of death,” he said.
SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that Echianu during the weekend committed suicide inside the prison.
The deceased was in 2020 sentenced to death for killing an Uber driver identified as Edwin Ali in Abuja.
A source had said he hanged himself in the prison toilet on Saturday, October 2, 2021.
He was said to have been dejected about his conviction that he decided to terminate his life.
The source had said, “He went into the bathroom in his cell and hanged himself. His lifeless body was discovered dangling from a rope around his neck. It is not clear what triggered this last act.
“However, it raises questions about the condition of the prison system in Nigeria. Why could a person on death row have easy access to a means of hanging himself? Also, what is the state of healthcare in the prisons, especially for inmates with mental health issues?
“It is now too late for anyone to know what would have been the outcome of his appeal. Death of the accused ends every criminal trial.”
