An official statement released by Odu’a Investment Company Limited, the firm managing Cocoa House has also confirmed the incident.

A Nigerian man, whose identity remains unknown, fell from an upper floor of the iconic 26-storey Cocoa House building in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, leaving passersby and residents who witnessed the it in shock.

An eyewitness who spoke to The PUNCH narrated: “When the incident happened, I initially thought it was a large bird falling from the sky.

“It was only when the person landed that I realised it was a human being.

“I had my phone with me but I couldn’t even record anything because I was completely shocked.”

Another eyewitness said, “The victim first hit a roof beside the security post of the building before landing on the ground. It was a terrifying sight.”

An official statement released by Odu’a Investment Company Limited, the firm managing Cocoa House has also confirmed the incident.

The statement authorised by the Head of Branding and Communication of the company, Victor Ayetoro said: “The individual involved was swiftly attended to by the emergency response team and taken to the University College Hospital, Ibadan, for urgent medical attention.”

The company expressed serious concerns about the incident and assured the public of its full cooperation with authorities investigating the cause of the fall. It also stated that further updates will be shared as more information emerges.

The Oyo State Police Command was unavailable for comment when contacted on Tuesday evening.

The Command Spokesman, Adewale Osifeso, asked SaharaReporters to send inquiries via text message, but had not responded to the messages as of the time this report was filed.

Cocoa House is a historic skyscraper in Ibadan. Completed in July 1964 and opened in July 1965, it was the first skyscraper in West Africa and stood as Nigeria’s tallest building until 1979. The building is still the tallest in Oyo State.

It is not clear if the fall was a suicide attempt or an unfortunate accident.

The incident occurred two weeks after 19-year-old Tmilehin Faith Opesusi took her own life following disappointment over scoring a low mark of 190.

Opesusi, originally from Abeokuta but living with her older sibling in Odogunyan, Ikorodu, Lagos State, was described by neighbors as “gentle and humble.”

It was reported that she ingested rodent poison in May.

A close friend told reporters that Opesusi had expressed deep distress over her poor exam results before taking the poison.

Neighbors grew concerned when Opesusi asked for palm oil at her sister’s office to ease the pain caused by the substance she had taken at home.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, her sister raised the alarm, drawing sympathizers to the scene.

On the way to the hospital, Opesusi reportedly admitted to ingesting poison. Sadly, she passed away at Kolak Hospital in Odogunyan, Ikorodu.

https://punchng.com/man-falls-from-26-storey-cocoa-house-in-oyo/

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