Samuel Meyiwa, a Nigerian was hauled before the Yaba Magistrate’s Court in Lagos by the company he worked for.
Employed in March as a driver responsible for distributing sachet water, Meyiwa allegedly used a portion of his daily sales income for gambling activities without his employer's knowledge.
The prosecution revealed that Meyiwa sold sachet water worth N88,000 in October and failed to return the proceeds, claiming that customers owed him.
This deceptive practice became a recurring pattern. In November, Meyiwa repeated the offence by driving away with bags of sachet water valued at N300,000. Instead of fulfilling his delivery duties, he used the money to place bets. When the bets were unsuccessful, he disappeared.
Despite efforts to locate him, Meyiwa proved elusive until he was seen working at another company. The police apprehended him, leading to his arraignment before Magistrate A.O Salawu. The prosecutor, Oriabure, informed the court that Meyiwa committed the offence between March and November 2023 at Okusanya Street, off Adebayo Road, Bariga.
The charge brought against him falls under Section 287 (7) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2015, pertaining to stealing.
A few days ago, a 31-year-old man named Chukwuma Onoh tragically took his own life after reportedly losing N2.5 million in an online bet in Abia State, Nigeria's southeast.
Desperate to clear a debt of N1.2 million, which he borrowed from friends to supplement his N1.3 million bet, Onoh reached out to a man presumed to be his boss via WhatsApp earlier that day.
In a heartfelt message, Onoh expressed the dire situation he found himself in, stating, "The only option is to end my life as I cannot live with the shame. I have turned into a gambler because of no job, and right now, I am at a point if I don’t redeem my debt, I might kill myself to pay the debt." This WhatsApp message has since circulated on social media, revealing the gravity of his predicament.
In a subsequent message, Onoh revealed the extent of his financial woes, saying, "I used N2,500,000 to place a bet and N1.2 m is not my own and if I don’t pay up today. I will be dead by the time you read this message. As I type this message, I am where I want to buy a sniper."
His plea for financial assistance was met with a response from the purported boss, expressing his inability to help immediately. Instead, he advised Onoh to ask his creditors to exercise patience with him so that he could clear the debts in instalments.
Tragically, on Tuesday, Onoh posted a disturbing message on his Facebook page, declaring, "Today is my last day on earth! I (am) going to meet my maker," without providing a specific reason. He went on further to thank some associates and friends, stating, "My spirit is with you all." Less than two hours after making this post, Onoh ingested a toxic substance, presumably Sniper, and was rushed to Madonna Hospital Umuahia by friends. Despite efforts by doctors and nurses to resuscitate him, he was declared dead.