The family of Nick Imudia, the former Chief Executive of e-commerce giant Konga, has refuted reports that he committed suicide, emphasizing that investigations are still ongoing to determine the cause of his death.
In a statement signed by Dr. Anthony N. Imudia on behalf of the family, they dismissed claims that Imudia made farewell calls to his brother and daughter, leaving instructions before his passing. The family condemned the premature reporting of his death while they were still at the hospital attempting to resuscitate him.
“The family of Nick Imudia is unhappy with the unprofessional manner the media has wrongly characterized the reporting of Nick Imudia’s death as suicide,” the statement read. “This is also supported by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police’s office that has vowed to investigate the sudden death of Nick. Neither did Nick call his brother in America with instructions on how to distribute his wealth, nor place a call to his daughter with any instructions.”
The statement expressed the family’s shock at the rapid spread of the news, questioning, “How come the news was reported so hastily (less than 3 hours from his death) before his family members even knew about it – and the medical team was still trying to resuscitate him at the hospital!”
The family stressed that Imudia had not shown any signs of stress or depression and dismissed the portrayal of his death as a suicide as suspect. They clarified that Imudia was in Lagos for a brief visit after traveling to the Netherlands and was scheduled to return to Nairobi the following day.
“Nick was full of life and people that worked closely with him or met him in the last hours prior to the incident surrounding his death were shocked with the media attributing his death to ‘suicide’,” the statement continued. “At his prime age and the level of his achievements, people who knew Nick well are all shocked and do not accept the characterization of his death as suicide.”
The family urged the media and the public to allow them to grieve without the spread of unfounded rumors about the circumstances of his death.