17 yrs old: Pregnant teenager drinks poison, blames grandma in suicide note

A 17-year-old girl, Temitope Saka, has died
after drinking insecticide, Sniper, in the
Igando area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the victim left
behind a suicide note in which she allegedly
blamed her grandma for her death.
Our correspondent gathered that Saka’s
boyfriend reported the incident to the police
at the Igando division, which led to the
arrest of the woman.
It was learnt that the victim’s mother died
when she was three years old.
A source explained that Saka, who was the
only child of her parents, was taken to her
grandmother’s house on Mofoluwasho
Close, Alhaji Ede bus stop, Igando.
The source said, “She had been living with
her grandma since her mother died. The
grandma is a trader in Ikotun, where the girl
met her boyfriend, who is also a trader.
“There were times that the girl brought the
man home and he spent the night with her
because the grandma went for vigils.”
Another source said when the victim
became pregnant, her grandma insisted she
packed out of the house.
“The woman insisted that she packed to her
boyfriend’s house. She threw out her
luggage and chased her away,” he said.
Our correspondent learnt that the victim
drank the poison last Wednesday and began
foaming in the mouth at her boyfriend’s
house.
She was said to have been rushed to the
Igando General Hospital where she died.
Her boyfriend, who saw the suicide note,
was said to have reported the incident to
the police.
A resident said, “The girl and the boyfriend
loved each other. The man did not even
reject the pregnancy.
“The grandma probably chased her away
because she could not stand the shame that
the girl got pregnant out of wedlock.
“Last Wednesday, while she was at the
boyfriend’s house, she started foaming in
the mouth and she was taken to the
hospital.
“The boyfriend found a suicide note where
she accused her grandma of causing her
death. He reported to the police.
“The police took the note and arrested the
woman. She was in tears at the bus stop as
she kept saying she didn’t mean any harm. It
was a sad sight.”
A woman on the street told our
correspondent that Saka was her parents’
only child.
She said, “Out of all the women her father
married, it was only her mother that had a
child and she was the only child. She was
the hope of the family. Now that she is dead,
that hope is gone.”
Our correspondent learnt that it was the
second time in less than two months that a
pregnant teenager would commit suicide in
the area.
On June 18, a 19-year-old girl, Uche Obiora,
allegedly took Sniper at her boyfriend’s
house, which is a street away from Saka’s
grandmother’s house.
A resident, who identified himself as
Goddey, appealed to the government to
intervene in the increasing rate of teenage
suicides in the community.
When our correspondent approached Saka’s
relatives at their house on Mofoluwasho
Close, they declined comment.
A fair-complexioned woman, who donned a
berret, said, “Nothing evil happened to us
here. Please leave now. We don’t want to say
anything. You can write whatever you have
heard. We have nothing to say.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo
Badmos, confirmed Saka’s death.
She said, “The victim allegedly drank a
substance suspected to be Sniper
insecticide.
“She was rushed to the Igando General
Hospital for treatment; but she died. Her
corpse has been deposited at the hospital’s
morgue for autopsy. Investigation is still
ongoing.”