Suicide: This is NOT the doctor who jumped into Lagos Lagoon
On Sunday evening, a Lagos-based Nigerian doctor reportedly committed suicide on Third Mainland Bridge. He jumped off the bridge into the waters below. Police are yet to recover his body.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) initially identified the doctor as “Oji”. He reportedly worked at Mount Sinai Hospital, Lagos.
Hours after the sad news hit the airwaves, bloggers, journalists and many more who work in media frantically sought to fully identify Oji.
WATCH: All is well with Nurse Allwell
Facebook searches apparently returned “Allwell Oji” to many seekers. The 37-year-old is a nurse based in Port Harcourt. He’s not the one who jumped into the Lagos Lagoon in an apparent suicide attempt.
But the media went to town with updates like “Doctor who committed suicide identified”; “See photo of doctor who committed suicide”; and so on.
Images of Allwell Oji, a man who is alive and well, were plastered on stories of Doctor Oji’s reported suicide.
Everyone did it. We too. We had to reach out to Oji and apologise to him after he used Facebook Live to point out our error.
He wasn’t able to say much because, according to him, he’s in shock. His words:
It’s too bad.
It’s an act of professional incompetence. No verification, and my photos were used. How could that be justified? Disregard for human life? Or evil wishes?
I am yet to recover from the shock of this callous act.
According to his Facebook profile, Nurse Allwell Oji was born on December 5, 1980.
He describes himself as diplomatic, logical and natural. He’s nicknamed “Doyen”. The words mean “the most respected or prominent person in a particular field”.
No wonder his employers tweeted this two years ago.
Our very own Allwell Oji in training at our partner hospital, Global Hospitals Chennai…. pic.twitter.com/qzcufRxOTy
— Sapphire Medicals (@SapphireHGroup) May 17, 2015
Oji’s favourite quote is:
Two wrongs can never make a right.
In 2015, Oji received medical training at Global Hospital and Health City in Chennai, India.
His profile also says he’s been to Michigan State University. In 2013, Oji graduated from School of Nursing, Amachara, in Umuahia.
He’s a product of Government College in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.
Too many fake bloggers