12-year-old girl commits suicide in Bayelsa

Yenagoa — A 12-year-old girl, Monday,
allegedly committed suicide in Yenagoa,
Bayelsa State, the police told the News
Agency of Nigeria, yesterday.
Mr Alex Akhigbe, Bayelsa Police Public
Relations Officer, told NAN that the girl
allegedly hanged herself early on Monday.
He said: “Yes, police have confirmed the
death of the young girl, who killed herself
behind her father’s house early in the
morning, yesterday (Monday).
“The police have also evacuated the
corpse from the scene and deposited it in
the mortuary. The corpse is still awaiting
autopsy.
“It was a very strange act and a surprise
to see a young girl of that age take her
life; it is a real mystery.”
He, however, said that investigations were
ongoing in the matter to establish the
motive behind the girl’s alleged action.
“Her parents have not talked to the police.
We are still investigating to get to the root
of the matter,” he said.
“Parents should always keep a watch
over their children. They should know the
character and kind of friends their kids
keep.”
“This is not good to our society. What
could cause a young person of that age to
hang herself to death?; we should
improve on moral teaching of our
children,” Akhigbe said.
The World Health Organisation, WHO, and
International Association for Prevention of
Suicide set aside Sept. 10 to raise global
attention on the prevention of suicide.
WHO estimates that the number of people
who die by suicide is expected to reach
1.5 million per year by 2020.
A WHO, estimate in 2011 showed that one
million people die per year by suicide
representing “a death every 40 seconds
or about 3,000 every day.”