Y Mustapha Suleiman
9 October 2008
It was a bad day for Benjamen Aaodoasee, a laboratory scientist with Our Lady of Fatima hospital, Bwari, when he stopped to gamble at a roadside gambling spot at Wuse bustop, losing N4,000 and four handsets to the three-man gambling gang.
According to Benjamen, a laboratory science graduate of Federal Polytechnic, Bida, he was trekking enroute to Customs office when he sighted the men by the roadside and who invited him to try his luck by pulling a stick around a rope they laid in front of them.
" They asked me to try my luck without demanding anything from me. Of course I did and I won the sum of N200 instantly," he said.
He added that immediately he won the amount ,the men asked him to bring out all he had on him and he complied.
" I gave them the sum of N4,000 and my three camera handsets which they said can make me win a lot of money if I succeeded."
Benjamen stressed that as soon as he gave them all the items in his pocket, he played the gambling game but he was told that he had lost.
" They said I lost and all that I gave them was theirs. I was not having anything on me, not even transport fare to go back home, " he lamented.
City News observed the incident as the gamblers and their victim engaged each other in an argument with the former claiming that the latter has lost, hence he has nothing to claim from them.
One of them said, " you came to gamble and you lost so why are you talking like a baby that we should refund you. I beg, go before we pounce on you."
Benjamen who was looking sober was begging them to at least, give him one of his phones and N200 to transport himself back home.
However they gave him the N200 and one of his phones after reprimanding him not to ever come near them again.
"Don't ask for anything again as we are both gamblers and in this game, one must win and the other must lose. You lost and that is all. "
Relieve, however, came to Benjamen when a policeofficer came around and identified one of the gamblers as a man recently shot in the leg by the police for a criminal act. As soon as the officer said this they became jittery and started defending their action.
" Officer, we were here and he came to gamble. He was the first to win. We even allowed him start by playing free. This is gambling and he lost."
They decided to handover all they had collected from their victim when the police officer started dragging one of them to the police station.
They settled everything right there. Benjamen got his money and phones back but not without parting with N500 out of it for the gamblers.
The police officer warned him to avoid such acts in future saying, " what will make an educated and polished man like you to stoop so low and gamble by the roadside with hoodlums. It shows that you are greedy. Next time you try it, both of you will be arrested and tried for the same crime."
Speaking to City news ,Benjamen said he felt bad about his action and appealed to the police to rid Abuja of such men. "I am an innocent victim of these criminals . I felt hypnotised as they are not doing this ordinarily."
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