It was reported on Saturday
that a director in the Kogi State civil service, Edward Soje allegedly
committed suicide by hanging himself on a tree in Lokoja, the state
capital.
The 54-year-old civil servant reportedly took his own life barely
10 days after his wife of 17 years, gave birth to a set of male triplets
in a private hospital in Abuja. The couple had been childless before
then.
The Kogi State Government who endured public backlash since the
news of Mr. Soje’s demise became public knowledge Saturday, have on
Sunday, expressed shock at the death of the senior civil servant who
reportedly committed suicide after going months without pay.
The state’s head of service, Deborah Ogunmola, said the death of
Edward Soje should not be blamed on Kogi State who had owed the deceased
seveal months of salary.
In her Sunday statement, Ms. Ogunmola said Mr. Soje was caught in
false age declaration practices during a staff verification exercise
introduced by Governor Yahaya Bello.
“His pay was stopped after proof emerged that he falsified his age records. His confession to the offence is on video,” Ms. Ogunmola said.
Notwithstanding, the state decided to retain Mr. Soje in service following talks with labour union officials, the official said.
“Following engagements with Labour which spanned several
months, the Kogi State Governor magnanimously commuted the disciplinary
action due against certain categories of offenders by grant of pardon.
Mr. Soje fell into one of the categories.
“Pardoned staff were processed for reinstatement and payment in
batches. Mr. Soje was in the September 2017 batch and he was aware of
this fact.
“The Kogi State Teaching Service Commission where he works has
forwarded a template for payment to Government and Mr. Soje was aware
that he was listed to receive six months back pay, leaving only two
months (August and September) outstanding.
“Edward Soje was not just my staff; he was also married to my
sister-in-law. His death is shocking, both as one related to him in some
way, and one responsible for him in an official capacity.”