A 20-year-old girl identified as Favour is reported to have committed suicide after she was allegedly raped by a popular content creator Ifeanyi Ogbonna, otherwise known as “Odogwu of Asaba.” Media reports indicate that Ogbonna has been arrested by the Delta State Police Command. The Command’s spokesperson, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday July 15, 2026. He said the 40-year-old suspect was arrested after a petition alleged that the girl travelled to Asaba on June 1, 2026, following his invitation to undergo content creation training, which he had reportedly advertised on his social media platforms.
Edafe said the suspect, Ogbonna, allegedly took Favour to a hotel upon her arrival in Asaba, where he allegedly raped and physically assaulted her. According to Edafe, Favour later returned home traumatised and narrated the alleged incident to her parents. He police spokesperson added that the deceased recorded a video recounting her experience and the emotional distress she suffered after the alleged assault. Edafe said Favour later died after ingesting a toxic substance despite efforts to save her life. The Delta State Commissioner of Police, Yemi Oyeniyi, had since reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to conducting a professional investigation and taking appropriate legal action in accordance with the law.
Favour is not the first to have been naively lured or hoodwinked by dubious users of social media platforms; and she’s unlikely to be the last. The disturbing aspect of this emergent phenomenon is how today’s digital generation of young boys and girls have refused to learn from the unfortunate experiences of others that fell victims to the pranks of criminally-minded persons. I still cannot find reasons to explain why the Gen Z users of the social media think they are safe from everyone and everything they encounter on all social media platforms.
How, for Allah’s sake, could anyone pick up his/her bag to honour an invitation offered by someone whose background, identity, character, and even intention(s) largely remain unclear? The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) makes it the weirdest thing for anyone to trust or believe in all the contents they read, watch, or listen to on the social media. While the GenZ may not necessarily need the seek permission of parents to access the social media and its various interactive platforms, it would be wise of them to seek parental guidance before they make choices or take decisions to, for example, honour an invitation or join any social media platform. Favour’s parents should have closely monitored their daughter and counselled her to understand that what has happened to her was not the end of life.
However, more serious than Favour’s naivety is the response of young people in Nigeria who erroneously believe suicide is a solution each time they are confronted with failures or nasty moments of life. Suicide is a desperate attempt to escape suffering or a troubling situation that has become unbearable to a suicidal person. Incidences of suicide have been on the increase in Nigeria especially in the past one decade. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately one million people die annually from suicide.
Since the suicide case of an 18-year-old female student who in April 2016 attempted taking her life in Kubwa, Abuja, over her inability to score up to 200 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) was reported by the Daily Trust newspaper when it happened, dozens of suicide cases with many not reported in the media, have occurred. The 18-year-old girl reportedly took 12 tablets of paracetamol at once and thus became dazed. She was quickly rushed to the Kubwa General Hospital where she was resuscitated, treated and later discharged.
Some suicidal warnings or signs in a potential suicidal person include having problems with eating, sleeping and socialization; reckless behaviours; giving away possessions; visiting friends and relations to say ‘Goodbye’; researching suicide methods; buying suicide materials and writing suicide notes.
Realizing Allah’s implicit favours within and around you helps you to recognize that whatever adversities befell you; you still have a cause to give gratitude to Allah (SWT) because there are others who are or have experienced the worst scenario. Challenges and failures are inevitable in life. It is how we manage them that makes or breaks us.
Yes, it is not expected that the entire nation of mankind would react to unfavourable circumstances of life in the same way. Due to individual differences that are rooted in nature and nurture, different people (young and old) manage failures in life in different ways. Some individuals, due largely to frustrations and other psychological factors, manage disappointing situations with the most expensive alternative; the suicide option.
Aside of the fears of stigmatization that push or steer people into committing suicide (as discernable in Favour’s case), disappointment arising from inability to appreciate Allah’s favours most often leads to frustration, which is a major cause of suicide. An individual may not appreciate his or her own situation by looking at those who are materially better. Those who contrast themselves with others who have less or enjoy fewer privileges are more likely to acknowledge the optimism concealed in the circumstances they found themselves. If you are distressed, calm yourself down and take an inventory of the blessings bestowed upon you but which others do not enjoy.
Government, parents and individuals all have distinct and collective roles to play in preventing suicide from becoming another new norm in the country. Suicide does not just happen suddenly. Parents and family members have the foremost role of identifying warning signs and taking measures to address such as soon as suicidal symptoms manifest in their children or siblings. Every potential means or instrument of suicide such as pills, knives, razors or firearms, should be kept out of the reach of a suicidal person. May Allah (SWT) guide us to manage our disappointments in life with the best of patience and prayers, Amin.
