45-Year-Old Woman Jumps Into Lagos Lagoon

In what appeared to be a suicide mission, a 45-year-old woman, identified as Ruth Amusan, allegedly jumped into lagoon at Leventist bus stop on Lagos Island yesterday and got drowned. Witnesses said the woman jumped into the lagoon about noon, after ruminating by the bank of the lagoon for hours. Observers had initially thought she was enjoying the fresh breeze from the lagoon.

They were, however, taken aback when she suddenly dived into the lagoon. Her body was taken out of the water when it floated later. The National Identity Card recovered from Amusan showed that she resided at No 1,

Sule Street, Ijegun, Ikotun Egbe, Lagos. Documents in a black polythene bag found at the bank of the lagoon, where witnesses said the woman had sat down for hours before jumping into the water, include Union Bank Savings Withdrawal Voucher, Union Bank Savings Deposit Voucher and Dividend Cheque of N8,000 issued by Union Registrars. Those who retrieved the woman’s body said they were not around when she committed suicide, adding that their attention was drawn to her floating body.
 “We just saw her body floating at the other end and we managed to get two ladders nearby which we used to draw out her body,” one of them said. Another witness said: “I sighted the woman sitting there for long today, but I did not know when she jumped into the water.”
 When our correspondent visited the scene about 1.30pm, sympathisers gathered around the woman’s body. Some names and phone numbers were written on some of the papers in the woman’s bag. When contacted on phone, one of them, Ayo Adetola, said the deceased was a relative. Another, who identified himself as Akin Amusan, said the deceased was his elder sister.
 He said the deceased had been having some mental problems. When our correspondent asked if it was possible for the body of a drowned person to float within a few hours, a Marine police officer, who craved anonymity, said it was possible if the spot was not deep