…My brother died because the wife said he was not the father the father of their triplet – Brother
…Kogi State Govt. accused of inducing brother
..It’s a campaign of clumny – Govt.
FROM: EMMANUEL ADEYEMI, LOKOJA
The end may not have been heard in what appears to be a new twist in the case of a top Kogi State civil servant, Edward Soje , 54, who committed suicide recently over non-payment of his 11 months salaries.
His brother, Cornelius Soje, has revealed that Edward died as a result of shock he received when his wife told him he was not the father of the male
triplet.
Brother of the deceased made this startlingly revelation in the office of the Secretary to the Kogi Gtate Government, Mrs. Arike Folashade, in company of the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Petra Akingbiti, when a popular private television was invited to cover the man’s revelation.
Edward Kehinde Soje , a director in the Kogi State civil service committed suicide on October 16 reportedly due to non-payment of his 11 months salaries shortly after his wife gave birth to a set of three male children.
He was said to have sold his car, and his uncompleted three bedroom bungalow all in a bid to keep the family going before he eventually succumbed to temptation to hang himself behind the Army barrack, Lokoja.
Media reports on the death of Soje was said to have rattled the state government and generated serious bashing against alleged insensitivity of the state government who is owing its workers up to 21 months salaries.
This made some members of the National Assembly and concerned individuals to provide a truck load of rice and other food items to be distributed to the workers who had sent a Save Our Soul plea to the Federal Government.
But brother of the deceased said Soje did not die as a result of frustration over non-payment of salaries, but died as a result of shock he received when his wife told him he was not the father of the new set of triplet which he said eventually forced him to commit suicide.
In the words of Cornelius Soje, “Edward Kehinde Soje, my brother married in 1996 and was blessed with a baby boy three years after marriage, the child later died and since then, it has been very difficult to get another baby. He had been having issues with his wife which they have called me several times to settle.
“On this particular incident, the wife refused to inform us of the suicide note the husband wrote even four days after his death . She said the husband came from kogi to the private hospital in Abuja where she gave birth, greeted her and the children and then left for her residence where he dropped a suicide note and quoted ps121 where he prayed for him and the children. He put the suicide note beside a Bible and placed his phone and keys on top and left to an unknown destination. This happened on Saturday, but the wife couldn’t tell anybody until Tuesday when the man’s body was already in the mortuary and till date non of us can reach her nether did her family members come to commiserate with us.
” I later sent a text to the wife in annoyance thst she killed my brother ,my brother was not allowed to give names to the children, it was the wife who gave the names.
” That Saturday before my brother committed the suicide he said to me ‘ till eternity I can never forget, my wife told me in the hospital that why am I rejoicing that do you think you are the father of the children?’ and I tried to pacified him to forget it that there is nothing a woman cannot say, that i was coming to see him, but sadly I couldn’t see him until he hanged himself.
” Salary has nothing to do with the death of my brother. If they don’t pay him for two years, he will survive. The salary issue is not only in Kogi, Benue and some other state are worst, my dear brother, the governor of kogi state is trying,” he added.
With this new revelation, tongues are now wagging as to whether Cornelius had been ‘bought’ by government to say all these to erase the impression that Soje actually died as a result encountered on non payment of salaries.
A family member, who pleaded not to be named, told our reporter that Cornelius’ new twist in the suicide saga may tear the family apart as it was strongly believed that he might have been paid by the state government to exonerate them from the whole issue.
Sources close to the police, however, said what Cornelius revealed at the SSG office was totally different from the statement he wrote in the police station.
It would be recalled that the police had, last week, said they were yet to ascertain the cause of Soje’s death.
While addressing newsmen, last Monday, the public relations officer of the Kogi State police command, Willy Aya, had said the suicide note said to be written by the deceased was yet to be seen by them saying the police would now go and conduct an autopsy on the remains of the deceased to ascertain the real cause of the death.
Aya had said preliminary investigation by them revealed that Soje suffered from partial stroke before the sad incident occurred.
But one of the family members of the deceased had said the police were merely playing the script of the state government who was said to ve rattled over the media reports on the incident.
According to him , the state government wanted the whole story to be changed that the man did not die as a result of frustration due to non payment of his salaries.
He said the state government, last Monday morning, actually sent for one of the brothers of the deceased pleading that government should no longer be mentioned that the late director died as a result of the non payment of salaries, a development that might have just been played out with Cornelius new twist to the story.
Investigation also revealed that a rejoinder written by the Head of Service, Deborah Ogunmola, to ostensibly counter the media reports that Soje was not owed eleven months salaries but eight months by government is still causing ripples among government officials in the state.
When contacted for government reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Yahaya Bello of the state, Petra Akinti Oyegbule said, contrary to rumours trending in the town, Cornelius, the brother of the deceased was never induced by the state government to say whatever he had said.
The CPS who said it was a mere coincidence that she met the brother of the deceased in the office of the SSG wondered why people should politicise the death of a fellow citizen saying ,”those who said the government gave the brother of the deceased money to say the man did not after all died as a result of non payment of salaries are only doing campaign of calumny, and this is arrant bunkum because government will never do that ” she added.