Police Investigate Death of Banker, Quiz Catholic Priest

Chiemelie Ezeobi

The Lagos State Police Command monday commenced investigation into the death of the 44-year-old Head of Operations at the Lekki Branch of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Olisa Nwakobi, who allegedly shot himself in front of his priest.

Contrary to earlier reports that he killed himself over a bad loan he gave to a client, preliminary investigations revealed that his death was because of personal frustrations.
Although he was not being investigated for the death of the banker, THISDAY gathered that the Catholic priest in charge of Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church, Northern Foreshore Estate, Lekki, was however quizzed.

The Catholic priest was quizzed because he is ‘the first witness’, as the detectives attempted to unravel the true cause of the suicide.
According to spokesperson of Lagos State Police Command, Dolapo Badmos, “We are not investigating the priest but being the first witness, we asked him some questions in order to aid our investigation.”

Initial reports had alleged that Nwakobi had gone to his priest at the Catholic Church to complain bitterly on how he approved a loan for a customer who had refused to service the loan.
However, a source from the bank who spoke on account of anonymity, said the bank was not responsible for his death since there was no pressure on him from the management given that he was not the one that approved the loans that had become delinquent.

The source alleged that the deceased had amassed the huge debt from personal commitments and was at the verge of “losing everything.”

He said: “He was very worried when he once walked up to me to narrate his debt burden. I was shocked to hear that he had killed himself despite all the assurances I gave him just a night before. This is the most heartbreaking moment of my life.”

Meanwhile, the Nwakobi family has described the deceased as a loving, unassuming and hardworking man who laboured to ensure a good life for himself, his family as well as his neighbours.
One of the family members who spoke on account of anonymity said: “There is hardly anything he has that he can’t give. I have always heard that good people die early, this is perhaps the best corollary of that parlance. It is sad.”

Until his death, the deceased was the Head of Operations at the Lekki Branch of FCMB which he joined more than a decade ago.

He left behind his wife and 10-year old daughter