The Kano State Fire Service (KSFS) has confirmed rescuing a 37-year-old man, Saifillahi Rabiu, who allegedly attempted to commit suicide over a failed visa deal.
According to the Service’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Alhaji Saminu Abdullahi, the successful rescue mission took place on Thursday morning at State Road, Tarauni Local Government Area of Kano.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Kano, Abdullahi explained thus; “We received a distress call at about 10:07 a.m. from the Ministry of Works and Housing, Kano state, about a suicide attempt by someone hanging on a tree. On receiving the information, we quickly sent our fire fighting vehicle to the scene at 10:10 a.m”
The statement further said that Rabiu, a resident of Semegu Quarters, had attempted to hang himself over his inability to refund about N2 million collected from those he tried assisting to obtain travel Visas to leave the country.
According to the Fire Service Spokesperson; “During interrogation, it was gathered that Rabiu connected some people to those that process travel visas to foreign countries, which was successful. Those he tried to help, however, rejected the visa, saying it was not the type they paid for, and demanded a refund of their money already paid to the processors.
“We reliably gathered that he was able to raise half a million Naira only. But pressure and threats from the people he wanted to assist made him try to take his life”.
The PRO stated that Rabiu was rescued alive but in critical condition, even as his suicide note revealed that he was in massive debt, having previously repaid only N500,000 of the amount involved in the failed transaction.
Abdullahi further disclosed that Rabiu, who later narrated how the creditor’s embarrassment drove him to consider suicide, has been handed over to Divisional Crime Officer, Zaharaddini of the Farm Centre Police Division for further investigation.
