Lagosians watched in awe and consternation yesterday evening at the Leventis bus stop in Marina, Lagos, when a ministerial nominee, Mr. Al-Mustaim Alade Abaniwonda, aged 56, dived into the lagoon under mysterious circumstances at about 3pm. He eventually drowned in the lagoon.


Abaniwonda was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate for Lagos East in the April 9, 2011 National Assembly election. According to Abaniwonda’s driver, simply identified as Wasiu, the senatorial candidate, who lost to the incumbent Senator Tunde Ashafa of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and whose name was among the list of 10 nominees sent to President Goodluck Jonathan for consideration as minister from Lagos State, was coming from a bank on Lagos Island when he told the driver that he was pressed and would need to use the toilet. Wasiu added that all his entreaties and persuasions that his boss should wait until they get to his office, at the CSS Bookshop building in Broad Street, fell on deaf ears.

Wasiu said: “He ate his food after we left the bank and he told me he was going to use a toilet down there. That was all until I heard people shouting. He was still struggling to get out when I got there but he later went down inside the water.” Wasiu was promptly arrested by police officers attached to the Marine Police Division at whose backyard the incident took place. He was not allowed to talk to people afterwards and when National Mirror attempted to talk to the DPO, he bluntly said he was not position to brief the press on the matter.

Eyewitness account has it that when the politician jumped into the river, he was still able to stand upright but he deliberately walked into a deeper portion of the lagoon. A toilet operator, who does not want his name in print said: “We didn’t know what happened in the vehicle before he came down. But when he got to us, he told us he wanted to use our toilet. We were still looking for the key and water when he walked towards the river.

“He took off his jacket, wristwatch, wallet and made for the lagoon side. We were even telling him that is not the toilet, he insisted on going towards other direction. We called him again and he answered in Yoruba saying: Ani mo fe se gaa, meaning, “I want to defecate”. All of a sudden we just saw him in the lagoon.

“I saw him dive into the water. We threw a floater and a tyre at him but he wouldn’t use them. Instead, he struggled to a deeper side of the river. “He was there still floating for about three minutes and luckily a flying boat was on sight. We waved at the boat to help rescue him at the point he was still floating but when the boat arrived, he swam and hid under the last pillar; when the people saw that they went there.”


http://www.talkofnaija.com/News/newsdetailsone.aspx?NewsId=CB60DC87-689C-483C-A6DB-310B63CA2C79
This one na the power of naija voodoo.

What could have made a supposed millionaire commit suicide.

What could have made a supposed millionaire commit suicide?