Man loses company’s ₦150,000 to sports betting, kills self

A young Nigerian man identified simply as Adegbite has reportedly committed suicide after losing N150,000 to sport betting.

The incident happened in Pegi in the Kuje area council of Abuja in November, and the Federal Capital Territory Police Command announced on Tuesday December 7 that it has commenced an investigation into the incident.

A colleague who spoke to Punch, said Adegbite committed suicide after he lost the company’s money to sports betting.

The colleague said;

“We were surprised when it happened. He was given the money to pay some people at his place of work. The money was in the region of N150,000. He took the money to a sport betting shop and staked it. He selected some matches but he did not win. He had hoped he would win and pay back the money.

“The following morning, he was not seen by his neighbours. They noticed that he was inside; they broke the door open and found his body dangling on the ceiling fan. They alerted the police, who removed his body.”

Spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, DSP Josephine Adeh confirmed the incident and also added that investigation is ongoing.

Loss of money is a natural risk of betting in general. … There are some reasons leading to the loss of Money risk, one of them is you are too confident with your prediction and place a high stake.

According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, problem gamblers are more likely than others to suffer from low self-esteem, develop stress-related disorders, to become anxious, have poor sleep and appetite, to develop a substance misuse problem and to suffer from depression.