The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Department (FEMD) successfully prevented a 24-year-old man, Shuaibu Yusha’u, from committing suicide in Abuja on Monday. Yusha’u, from Baga Local Government Area of Borno State, had climbed a 120-meter mast at Katampe Hill, within the premises of Aso Radio and Television Services, and threatened to jump in protest against the removal of the fuel subsidy, which he claimed had plunged the country into economic chaos, causing hardship particularly among the poor and vulnerable.
In his attempted suicide note, Yusha’u expressed his demands to the Federal Government: reversing the fuel subsidy removal, declaring a state of emergency in states affected by terrorist attacks and rising insecurity (Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna, and Borno), opening national borders to address food shortages, and tackling the issue of out-of-school children.
The acting Director-General of FEMD, Florence Wenegieme, responded to a distress call and arrived at the scene to persuade Yusha’u to abandon his suicide attempt. After about an hour of counselling, she successfully convinced him to climb down. Wenegieme advised citizens against taking their lives to draw government attention, suggesting there are better ways to approach the government with concerns.
She emphasized that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is addressing the issues of insecurity and food shortages, as well as providing palliatives to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal. Wenegieme promised to arrange counselling services for Yusha’u and called for aggressive sensitization campaigns to discourage suicide and promote positive approaches to addressing grievances.
Other government agencies present at the scene included the FCT Fire Service, National Emergency Management Agency, Social Development Secretariat, FCTA, Department of Reform Coordination, and Nigeria Police.