Lagos lottery company arraigned for refusing N72m win
The Lagos State High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square has summoned Green Lotto and its agent, Charles Akhenanen, for failing to pay a businessman his N72,700,000 prize.
A firm called Brentwood Multiservices Global Limited in Ikorodu, Lagos, is responsible for running Green Lotto.
On Thursday, the complainant stated before Justice Modupe Nicol-Clay that on January 29, 2021, he gambled with N330,000 and won, but the defendants refused to give him the winnings.
He said that on the same day he won N48 million playing Green Lotto, he also played Premier Lotto with the same amount of money and won the same amount, therefore he proceeded to Ojuelegba, Surulere, to collect his prize.
After receiving the money he won at Premier Lotto, the witness claimed he returned to Green Lotto the next day to claim the N72,700,000 he won, but the company refused to pay him. The state prosecuting counsel, Mrs. Titilayo Olanrewaju-Daudu, introduced the witness’s testimony as evidence in chief.
He said, “When I arrived on Tuesday to collect the money, they stated their system had had a glitch, and the result was wiped out.”
“I questioned Charles if the machine developed a defect after the game announced a winner or before, but the defendant rushed me out, and I was forced to complain to the police.
Prior to playing on January 29, I had played on January 26 with N50,000 or N60,000 and lost. It’s not the first time I’ve joined in on the fun with them. When I play, I sometimes come out on top, but other times I come out on the losing end.
The day I played for N500,000 and N1,000,000 and didn’t win, I questioned Charles why the machine didn’t break down.
During Adedotun Moses’s cross-examination, the witness testified that he had been a gamer for more than 30 years.
“I informed Area B, Apapa; they invited him but he did not show up. Thus, Area B contacted the lottery board, which then convened a number of meetings during which I was requested to be compensated.
I was offered N10 million, but I turned it down. Then we proceeded to the national board in Abuja, where I was given N13 million, which I turned down. He said, “They then went to Zone 2 and begged that they would pay me N20m; I also refused, and the issue was forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions for advise.
In response to whether or whether he had ever won anything from Green Lotto, he said, “Yes, I won in 2019; I won almost N40m and they paid me.”
On June 6, 2022, the agent and Green Lotto were arrested for allegedly taking N72,700,000.
The government of Lagos State is pursuing criminal proceedings against them for three counts of conspiracy, acquiring under false pretenses, and theft.
The state prosecuting counsel, Olanrewaju-Daudu, said at the arraignment that the incident occurred at 66, Agbo-Malu, Marina, Apapa.
According to the prosecution, the defendants took N330,000 from the plaintiff on the same day he won the lotto but never reimbursed him.
The prosecution claims the crimes violate Chapters 411, 314, and 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
The accused have entered not guilty pleas.
The case has been postponed until November 21 by Justice Nicol-Clay.
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