Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo
Residents of the Aregbesola area in Osogbo, Osun State capital, trooped out in their numbers to rescue a woman, who is simply identified as Kafayat Alake, after jumping into the Osun river in a suicide attempt.
The woman, after jumping into the river from the bridge, was however lucky as rescuers saved her before drowning.
The state government had imposed stay-at-home order on the residents of the state as part of the measures to curb the spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
Alake, whose strange movement on the bridge was noticed before she eventually jumped into the river, drew the attention of passersby who were in the area.
According to one of her rescuers, the woman, who dressed in blue gown, was trekking and got to the middle of the bridge, climbed the rail and jumped down.
“The incident happened so fast that we could not stop her. However, when she jumped, some people called for help, prompting me to dive in and rescued her,” David Johnson explained.
He added: “We were somewhere around that place when the woman jumped from the bridge. At first we thought she was either pushed or fell over by mistake.
So while others were calling for help, I had to jump into the river and rescued her.”
When some journalists got to the scene, the woman was sat down looking dejected by the river bank.
Speaking incoherently, she said she hails from Alapaaro in Isale Osun, Osogbo. She said she has three children and she could not be able to cater for them due to her financial predicament.
According to her, “I have three children and I couldn’t cater for them due to my financial predicament. My husband lives in Lagos, since we have separated about 13 years ago.”
Later, the woman was taken to a nearby hospital in an ambulance for medical attention.
