The alleged suicide of Toluige Olokoobi Babalola, the woman in the viral ‘Mummy Calm Down’ video, has sparked controversy, with conflicting reports emerging from the husband and neighbours.
The Edo State Police revealed that statements from the deceased’s husband, Mr Lawal, and neighbours contradicted each other, prompting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.
Toluige and her son gained internet fame in 2020 after a video showed the little boy on his knees, tearfully pleading with his mother to ‘calm down and rest a little’ after upsetting her.
On Tuesday, an online user claimed that Toluige had committed suicide in Benin, Edo State, under unknown circumstances.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Chidi Nwabuzor, stated that the accounts provided by the husband and neighbours differed, leading to an official investigation by the State Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Adamu Dankwara.
Nwabuzor explained, “The husband reported that he returned from the market and found his two-year-old child, Ife Lawal, crying. Upon entering the house, he discovered his wife hanging from a rope tied to the ceiling. He immediately alerted neighbours, who accompanied him to the hospital where the wife was confirmed dead and deposited at a hospital mortuary in Benin City.”
He continued, “The husband then reported the incident to the Evbuotubu police station. The DPO and operatives recovered the rope and a suicide note allegedly written by the late woman.
“However, upon examining the body, there was no mark of violence. Subsequently, the Commissioner of Police directed the transfer of the case to SCID for a thorough investigation.”
Nwabuzor highlighted conflicting narratives, stating, “There are issues alleged and there are so many sides of the coin, the husband said the neighbours came upon his outcry and helped him to lose the woman.
“The neighbours are saying ‘No! We did not know anything about losing the woman’ and when he shouted, we came and met him lying on top of the woman.
“There are so many issues, that is why the Commissioner of Police in his wisdom ordered for investigation.
“Moreso when there was a report from the DPO that there was no mark of violence, one would have expected in all truism that the woman that died of hanging, the mark of the rope will be there, that is the mark of violence we are talking about so he is under investigation.”
