An employee of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation, Akinlolu Ajayi, has been stopped from committing suicide.

The 54-year-old man was seen on September 15 on the Third Mainland Bridge trying to jump into the lagoon at the University of Lagos waterfront.

Ajayi was, however, stopped when the men of the Bariga Police Division on a routine patrol of the area stumbled on him, the spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Adekunle Ajisebutu, said in a statement on Saturday.

He also said that the police would prosecute Ajayi for the action.

The statement was titled, ‘Police Officers Save Man From Committing Suicide In Lagos’.

The statement partly read, “The incident happened at about 0925hrs of 15th September, 2021 when one Akinlolu Ajayi, 54, a staff member of LSDPC Town Planning, Ilupeju, resident at No.1, Owodunni Street, Oworonsoki was seen on the Third Mainland Bridge trying to jump into the lagoon at the UNILAG waterfront.

“Pronto, the anti-crime patrol team of the Bariga Police Division on a routine patrol of the area, immediately rescued the man and took him into protective custody.

“The Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, having directed that the man’s family should be contacted for necessary action, appeals to members of the public not to take their own lives no matter the challenges they are currently facing.

“According to the CP, such challenges are merely ephemeral. The Police boss further warns that such condemnable act is not only morally wrong but is also criminal.

“Meanwhile the suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for investigation and subsequent prosecution.”