A fourteen-year-old boy simply identified as Pelumi in the Onipaanu area of Ogun State has taken his own life, sending waves of shock and grief across the community.
According to findings, Pelumi killed himself shortly after giving a girl in his neighbourhood a gift and a love letter.
Recounting the incident, Rukayyat, the mother of the girl who received the gift, narrated what transpired.
“On Wednesday evening, around 5pm, he (Pelumi) came to our area. The boy is 14 years old and he brought a gift alongside a letter to my daughter, Adijat,” she said.
“He sent someone to deliver the letter and stood afar. When my daughter saw the gift, she began to ask to know who sent the person who delivered it. It was in the process that Pelumi, who stood some distance away, was identified as the ‘gifter’.
“People around recognised him and then stated that he was gifting a girl something at such a young age. They jokingly stated that since he could send a gift to a girl at such tender age, he seems ready to marry,” she said.
Rukayyat explained that the exchange was lighthearted, not hostile.
She said, “Before they knew it, he ran away from the place and around 7pm, we learnt that someone in the area killed himself.
“I didn’t even think it was Pelumi because from the accounts, it was just a minor issue.
“It was later that I learnt that he killed himself because he was scared that his mother would beat him if she learnt that he went to give a girl a gift and even wrote a love letter.”
The revelation left many in the community shaken that a moment of adolescent naivety and fear of parental reprimand ended in such a devastating decision.
