25-year-old football fan commits suicide over betting
A25-year-old man has reportedly committed suicide in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. The deceased allegedly took his live by hanging himself on a ceiling fan in his apartment. He was said to have lost out in a betting over the outcome of a European Champion League match played last week.
The incident occurred in Oko-erin area of the town after the return leg match between FC Barcelona of Spain and AS Roma of Italy played in Italy on Tuesday. He was said to have bet that Barcelona, who were leading by 4-1 in the first leg played at Nou Camp, Spain, would maintain its lead at end of the return leg and be through to the semi-final of the UEFA champions league.
However, the match turned out to be 3-0 in favour of AS Roma, making the aggregate result to be 44 with Roma qualifying for the semi-final at the expense of Barcelona by virtue of away goals rule. The result made the deceased to lose the motorcycle to his opponent in the bet as the opponent reportedly smiled home with the bike from the viewing centre at the night immediately after the match.
The man was said to be downcast with the loss of the motorcycle as some said he used it for commercial purposes and that it was his main source of livelihood, while others said he was not the owner of the motorcycle and only had it in his custody on behalf of the real owner.
It was learnt that not being able to recover from the trauma, the man resorted to committing suicide by hanging himself. An eyewitness, who said not many people were aware of the incident, disclosed that the development devastated the deceased’s Igbo kinsmen in the area who lamented the action of the man.
The Kwara State police command spokesperson, Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the suicide. He said it was not in connection with match betting. Okasanmi explained that report with him indicated that the man committed the suicide because of huge debt hanging on his neck, saying “the man was said to have incurred debt here and there.”
This is however coming barely some days after a student of the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, allegedly committed suicide after being handed two semesters extension by the school authorities following his poor results in his final year examination. The deceased, Orumah Efemena, of the Pharmacy Department, was alleged to have ingested two containers of insecticide last week Wednesday when he discovered that he would be spending another session in school. It was gathered that this was the second time the victim would be repeating the class.
Some students of the department who spoke on anonymity confirmed the sad incident, saying the deceased had been depressed after discovering he had been put on probation for another academic session. Efemena, who was the eldest child of his parents, was said to have also received some query from his father on his poor result.
Sources said the deceased was found dead in his room in the hostel where he lived. He was said to have been rushed to the university health centre where he was pronounced dead.
A lecturer of the institution who also confirmed the incident said medical report indicated that the student took substances believed to be sniper. He added that upon a check on his apartment, two empty containers of the product were discovered, confirming the report of the doctors.
Another student who simply identified herself as Amaka, said: “He was previously in class the day he died. He looked very happy and he exchanged jokes with his course mates. Some of his friends were even with him at home but after they left, he drank sniper and died.”
Amaka added that the deceased had since been buried on Thursday. When contacted, DELSU’S Public Relations Officer, Mr. Freeborn Aganbi, neither confirmed nor denied the incident. He, however, requested for more time to provide details.
Similarly, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Delta State police command, Andrew Aniamaka, said although he read about the incident on the social media, the matter was not reported to the police in Abraka.