A 31-year-old man has committed suicide in Abia State, Nigeria’s South-east, after reportedly losing N2.5 million in an online bet.
The victim, Chukwuma Onoh, was said to have borrowed N1.2 million from friends which he combined with his N1.3 million to place a bet but failed to win it.
Mr Onoh had, earlier on the same day in a WhatsApp message, pleaded with a man said to be his boss to help him clear a debt of N1.2 million which he incurred after losing the N2.5 million bet.
“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,” he reportedly wrote in the WhatsApp message.
A screenshot of the victim’s WhatsApp chat with the man has been circulating on social media.
“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,” he added.
The man told Mr Onoh that he was out of cash to help at the moment and that the victim should ask his creditors to “hold on” so he (the victim) could clear the debts based on instalment payments.
How it started
On Tuesday, Mr Onoh dropped a suicide note on his Facebook page which prompted some of his friends to reach out to him.
“Today is my last day on earth! I (am) going to meet my maker,” he wrote without giving a reason.
The victim thanked some of his associates and friends.
“My spirit is with you all,” he told them.
Mr Onoh, who hailed from Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State, was said to have taken the sniper less than two hours after making the post on his Facebook page.
He was later rushed to Madonna Hospital Umuahia by friends but was declared dead by the doctors on duty.
