Cameroonian taken into mental health custody after threatening to jump off electric pole

MENTAL health authorities in Lagos State have taken Cameroonian national Fredrick Gino into custody after he climbed an electric pole and threatened to kill himself in response to the personal frustration he is currently going through in his life.

 

Yesterday afternoon, Mr Gino climbed an electric pole on Adebisi Oguniyi Crescent near the Lekki-Ikate Roundabout and threatened to kill himself. Efforts by residents, officers of the local fire service, the Eko Electric Distribution Company and the police to persuade him to rescind the decision were abortive.

 

 After clutching on to the pole for more than nine hours, some officials of the Lagos State Fire Service and Lagos State Emergency Management Agency climbed the pole to rescue him. Mr Gino was said to have jumped onto the roof of a nearby house, tore a part of the zinc and attempted to slit his own throat before he was overpowered, rescued and taken to a medical facility.

 

Local resident, Ken Egbas, said: “The pole is in front of my house and I woke up around 6.30am and heard people outside screaming. I observed that the subject of the commotion was half-clad and threatening to kill himself.

 

“He lamented that he did not have money and clothes and said he had gone to Morocco but they chased him away, insisting that he wanted to die. At about 6.37am, he ran towards the pole in front of my house and climbed it from the ground to the top without any ladder and then he stood at the top of the high-tension wire.

 

Mr Egbas, lamented that despite calling the emergency numbers from 7am and tweeting the Lagos State governor Akinwunmi Ambode, no agency of government showed up until 3pm. He explained that when he reached out to the agencies on the phone, they frustrated him by shifting responsibility to each another.

 

After that failed, Mr Egbas said he later approached Mr Gino and offered him N5,000 but he refused to take the money. Later, policemen from the Maroko division, firefighters from Lekki and officials of the Eko Electric later showed up at the scene and one resident reportedly offered his inflatable bouncing castle to make the job of getting Mr Gino to the ground easier.

 

Rasak Fadipe, the director of the Lagos State Fire Service, said Mr Gino was rushed to a hospital after the rescue, adding that the victim was not mentally stable. Police spokeswoman Dolapo Badmos, said the man is a Cameroonian and from all indications, he has mental illness, pointing out that after his treatment, he will be handed over to Cameroonian authorities.