The police have detained the father of the viral boy in the “Mummy Calm Down” video after his wife, the boy’s mother, committed suicide. The woman reportedly hanged herself in her home on Monday afternoon in Benin city.

On Thursday, the spokesperson of the Edo state Police Command, Chidi Nwabuzor, confirmed the arrest after the unfortunate suicide of Toluige Olokoobi, the mother to Oreofeoluwa Lawal-Babalola, the little boy who inspired the viral “mummy be calming down” video.

“He came home from the market when he saw his wife hanging with rope on her neck. He alerted the neighbours who followed him to the hospital where she was confirmed dead,” Nwabuzor said.

The “Mummy Calm Down” video went viral in 2022, showing the young boy trying to calm his mother down during a tantrum. The video was widely shared and commented on, with many people praising the boy’s maturity and patience.

In a tragic turn of events, on Tuesday, an X user had announced that Toluige tragically took her own life in Benin for reasons that remains unknown.

The X user said he had been present at the scene of the incident on Monday afternoon and noted that Toluige had not confided in anyone about her troubles before her suicide.

“The woman in the viral Mummy Calm down video has just committed suicide here in Benin. She refused to speak to anyone about her problems. She left three kids for her husband including the popular Mummy Calm Down boy”, he wrote.

The news of the mother’s suicide has cast a dark shadow over the video’s lighthearted tone. According to reports, the woman had been struggling with depression and had been receiving treatment for the condition.