A yet to be identified woman allegedly jumped into the Lagos Lagoon from the Third Mainland Bridge today.
The woman was alleged to have parked her sports utility vehicle, a black Ford Explorer, with registration number APP 190CE, inward Maryland, Ikeja, crossed over to the other side of the road, and jumped into the lagoon.
Another account said the woman was in an Uber taxi and she had ordered the driver to stop after which she allegedly crossed to the other side and jumped straight into the lagoon.
As at press time, there was no official confirmation of the report. An official of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the agency was yet to ascertain if the report was actually another suicidal case.
The official noted that the agency was still speaking to people who claimed to have witnessed the incident and was still making moves to ascertain the authenticity or otherwise of the claims.
On his part, police public relations officer for the Lagos State Command, Chike Oti, said: “Information filtered to us that a woman in an Uber taxi ordered her driver to stop inward Maryland, crossed over to the other side and jumped into the lagoon. Well, nobody reported the matter to us, but we cannot just hear such a story and keep quiet.
“The commissioner of police, Mr Imohimi Edgal, has ordered the Marine Police, Rapid Response Squad, Anti-Terrorism Unit, and the three divisional police stations that the bridge falls under their jurisdiction to fish out the victim if any. We are still searching.
“The police, aided by other agencies like the LASEMA, Lagos State Ambulance Unit, Federal Road Safety Corps and local divers have been searching the lagoon. And, so far, the body of the victim has not been found. The CP has ordered that the search party should keep searching till further directives.
“Investigation is ongoing and whatever we find out would be communicated to the public.”
Meanwhile, a diver said that “We don’t know the identity of the woman. With my experience, the body will resurface after three days.”
As at press time, the search was still on.
