Story Of Alleged Suicide By Mother Of Three Over Hardship Not True, Says Enugu Police Spokesman

By Uzoma Kalu

Spokesman of the Enugu State Police Command, Daniel Ndukwe, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) on behalf of the Command has described as untrue and misleading the trending story in the social media of a mother of three who reportedly dumped her children and jumped in front of a moving vehicle.

In a statement on Thursday, the spokesman said that “the Enugu State Police Command has received news publications that alleged a woman suffering from depression over hardship dumped her children in the Ogui Police Station of the Command on Saturday, March 2, 2024. The publications further claimed that she committed suicide by running into a moving vehicle in front of the Station.

“However, these reports are untrue and misleading. Hence, the Command clarifies and presents an accurate account of the incident as follows:

“On March 2, at about 8:30 a.m., the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) of Central Police Station (CPS) and Ogui Police Division received distress calls alleging that a woman abandoned her three children in front of God Is Good Terminal along Ogui Road by Osisatech Roundabout, Enugu. The callers further alleged that the woman stripped herself naked due to a mental disorder before running off to an unknown destination.

“The DPOs and their teams immediately moved to the scene, where they found the children, took them to Ogui Police Station and commenced investigations to locate their mother.”

According to the statement, “during investigations, Mrs. Nkechinyere Mbah, wife of the Executive Governor of Enugu State, visited the Police Station, offering scholarships for welfare support for all three children (names withheld), aged six, three and two years, respectively. Afterward, they were handed over to the Ministry of Gender Affairs and Social Development through Mrs. Ngozi Enih, the Honourable Commissioner overseeing the Ministry.

“Additionally, the woman’s husband reported to the Police Station and stated that his yet-to-be seen wife recently started displaying strange behaviours, which suggested signs of mental health issues. He further stated that he returned from work in the morning hours of the said day of the incident, and met the absence of his wife and the children at their home in the Ugwuaji area of Enugu South Local Government Area.”

The police did not disclose the woman’s husband’s name nor her own name. However, the spokesman said “it is, therefore, expedient to categorically state that, contrary to the untrue and misleading viral publications, there was no such incident of the said woman dumping the children and committing suicide through a fatal motor accident in front of Ogui Police Station. Moreover, there was no fatal motor-pedestrian accident recorded in front of the Police Station or along the entire stretch of Ogui Road, Enugu, on March 2, 2024.

“Consequently, while investigative actions are on course to trace the whereabouts and ascertain the condition of the woman, the public has been enjoined to disregard the untrue and misleading publications.

“Furthermore, the publishers are advised to always investigate and get their facts right before rushing to the press with such information that is capable of misinforming and misleading the public,” Ndukwe stated.