30-year-old woman jumps off Third Mainland Bridge into Lagos lagoon

A yet-to-be-identified middle-aged lady, yesterday, reportedly dived into the Lagos lagoon on Third Mainland Bridge, in an apparent case of suicide.

Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Agency, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, who confirmed the incident, said the rescue team were still searching for the body of the lady, as of press time.

According to Oke-Osayintolu: “Upon the arrival of the LRT at the scene, an investigation revealed that a lady in her late 30s plunged into the Lagos lagoon. 

Further investigation revealed that the lady alighted from a commercial cab, an Uber taxi car, on the bridge, and suddenly plunged into the lagoon.

The driver of the taxi claimed that earlier, she was having a heated conversation with her fiancé over her mobile phone, before alighting from the car and subsequently jumped into the lagoon.

The LRT men of Lagos State fire and rescue service, Lagos State Waterways Authority, LASWA, and officials of the Department of State Service, DSS, are still searching for the victim.

Oke-Osanyintolu, however, lamented over the spate of suicide, particularly on the Third Mainland Bridge, saying: “Every 40 seconds, someone thinks about committing suicide and eventually commits it.

“It is instructive that the 11.8 kilometres length, of the bridge over the lagoon, had witnessed a series of suicide cases in the last four months.“

The bridge has, since it was opened in 1990, served as the major route from the Mainland to Lagos Island, Victoria Island, Lekki, Ajah and Epe, where thousands of residents commute.