A 19-year-old boy, Kasumu Tunde Yusuf in Abeokuta, Ogun State on May 22, 2017 poisoned himself over his poor performance in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Yusuf, who lives with his grandmother, was said to have scored 149 marks in the examination, which earned him scolding from his mother, a liquor seller in the Iporo Ake area of Abeokuta.
The boy, who completed his secondary education last year at Ijemo Titun Grammar School, Abeokuta, could not stomach his mother’s reproach, hence, he drank a liquid soap kept in the house by his grandmother.
Before making the suicide attempt, Yusuf allegedly used his mobile handset to record the reasons for his action, asking people not to cry after he might have taken his own life.
In the recording, Yusuf allegedly said his mother had put him to shame among his friends and neighbours by openly scolding him
However, neighbours immediately gave Yusuf palm oil and local herbs in order to neutralise the effect of the poison in his body.