TRAGIC 19-YEAR-OLD TAKES OWN LIFE AFTER LOW UTME SCORE
In a heartbreaking incident that has left a community in mourning, a 19-year-old girl, Opesusi Faith Timilehin, took her own life in Ikorodu, Lagos State, reportedly due to disappointment over her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) score.
Faith, who had been living with her elder sister in Odogunyan, Ikorodu, was said to have been deeply disheartened after scoring 190 in the 2025 UTME, a result she considered lower than her 2024 performance. Family and neighbours described her as a calm, respectful, and academically ambitious young woman who had applied to study Microbiology.
According to reports, Faith ingested a poisonous substance commonly referred to as “Push Out” (a rodenticide), then visited her sister’s workplace asking for palm oil to ease her pain. Unaware of what had transpired, her sister initially dismissed the request until Faith’s condition rapidly deteriorated. Alarmed, the sister called for help, and neighbours rushed to assist.
Faith reportedly confessed en route to the hospital that she had taken poison earlier that day. Despite efforts to save her life at Kolak Hospital, Odogunyan, she was pronounced dead.
In a tragic twist of fate, just 30 minutes after her death, a provisional admission message from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) arrived in her email inbox—confirming her admission to study Microbiology.
A family member, shocked by the revelation, shared: “The admission message came through her Gmail shortly after she was confirmed dead. It’s truly devastating.”
Faith’s grieving parents later arrived from Abeokuta to retrieve her remains for burial.
The incident has sparked a wave of emotional reactions on social media, with many calling for improved mental health support for young Nigerians facing academic and societal pressures.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide, please seek help immediately. You are not alone.
