SUICIDE; A SIN AGAINST GOD & MAN

The African Independent Television reported just few hours into the new year how a middle aged-man identified as Mr. Fedrick Orugbo  committed suicide in Abuja, The federal capital Territory of Nigeria by setting himself ablaze publicly to protest economic hardship in the country.

Nigerians are suffering despite all the natural resources God blessed our dear country with, Mr. Fedrick is a family man with seven children, it was gathered that he was into business before he lost everything leaving him with several loans unpaid, he faced ejection threat from his landlord, his children are out of school, his mother’s corpse lying in the mortuary no money to claim the corpse. Hmmm there’s hardship in the country.

It is a sin against God to commit suicide no matter what, morally unacceptable, no matter what one is going through, it is unacceptable on earth and thereafter.

Suicide has over the years been criminalized, though anyone who commits suicide is beyond the reach of the law, but there can still be legal consequences in the case of treatment of his corpse or fate of the person’s property or family members.

What and who aided another to commit suicide has over the years been dealt with and these vary from one jurisdiction to the other.

In Nigeria for instance an attempt to commit suicide is a punishable offence in the eye of the law which attracts penalty of one year imprisonment. Also anyone who counsels another to commit suicide which is a felony offence shall be punished with imprisonment of life imprisonment according to the criminal code or fine or both.

In India for instance thirty five states favoured the provision of the section 309 of the IPC that an attempt to commit suicide should be punished with one year imprisonment.

In United states of America anyone caught with an attempt to commit suicide  shall be punished by imprisonment  of not more than five years imprisonment or fine of not more than $10,000 Ten Thousand dollars because it is felony.

Those that are dead cannot be judge by law but if caught alive shall be adequately punished.

Now to our government, our country is blessed and we all know it, there are several things that can be put in place to help and improve the lives of common man on the street, poverty, unemployment, insecurity, lack of basic amenities in our country is too much.

We implore you to put effort in serving God through the people of Nigeria.

Our people are dying, come to our rescue. God bless you as you do so.

Thank you.

Oyenike Alliyu-Adebiyi LLB(hons)BL