The police in Lagos have arrested a 38-year-old businessman, Williams Peter, for allegedly refusing to pay a debt of N600,000 he incurred in a gambling game. Peter is reported to be a chronic gambler.
One Solomon Adetoro, who operated the game centre, was also apprehended by the police for conniving with Peter to allegedly defraud the management of the gambling firm.
Our correspondent learnt that Peter approached Adetoro at the gambling outlet on Olowu Street, Ikeja, Lagos, on May 24, 2018, to play the game. He was said to have placed several bets without winning and promised to pay the following day.
The native of Rivers State reportedly returned to the outlet the next day, took another round of bets and lost until the money accumulated to N600,000.
Saturday Punch gathered that the operator did not report the debt to the management until it was discovered by an official, who came to take a record of bets around 9:00pm.
Adetoro and Peter were subsequently arrested by the police from the Ikeja division where the case was reported.
The operator, who told the police that Peter was his customer, stated that he became worried and protested as the debt piled up, but the man assuaged his fear.
He said,
“He regularly comes to play Casinogambling in our shop. Each time he played without winning, he would beg me to allow him play another game. He played it for two days and the money accumulated to N600,000.
“He wanted to do another N50,000 when I stopped him. He said he had money that I should not worry. It was during the assessment of the account that the N600,000 was discovered.”
Peter confessed to playing the bets on credit in his statement to the police, adding that he had been into gambling for 16 years.
They were arraigned in Ikeja Magistrate’s Court on two counts of stealing to which they pleaded not guilty.
The police prosecutor, Mr. Benson Emuehi, told the court that the offence contravened sections 315 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The presiding magistrate, Mrs. O Sule-Hamzat, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N50,000 with one surety in like sum, adding that the surety must present evidence of tax payments.
The case was adjourned till July 10, 2018 for mention.
