The 26-year-old driver of a sachet water delivery vehicle was taken into custody and appeared in court after he bet on sports with sales proceeds from his business.
Meyiwa, who began working as a driver in March and was in charge of distributing sachet water, is accused of using some of his daily sales revenue for gambling without telling his employer.
According to the prosecution, Meyiwa sold N88,000 worth of sachet water in October but neglected to give the money back, stating that his customers owed him.
This dishonest behaviour developed into a pattern. Meyiwa committed the same crime again in November, driving off with bags of N300,000 worth of sachet water.
Instead of fulfilling his delivery duties, he used the money to place bets. When the bets were unsuccessful, he disappeared
Meyiwa eluded searchers for a long time until he was spotted at another business. After being captured by the police, he was arraigned before Magistrate A.O. Salawu.
Meyiwa committed the crime at Okusanya Street, off Adebayo Road, in Bariga between March and November 2023, the prosecutor, Oriabure, told the court.
Section 287 (7) of the Lagos State of Nigeria 2015 Criminal Law pertains to the theft charge that was brought against him.
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
Onoh disclosed the full extent of his financial difficulties in a later message, writing, “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.” By the time you read this, I will have passed away. I want to buy a sniper where I am right now, as I type this message.
The alleged boss responded to his request for financial support by saying he couldn’t assist right away. He suggested that Onoh ask his creditors to be patient with him instead so that he could pay off the debt in installments.
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
