PUNCH
Samuel Adegoke foamed in the mouth and nostrils as he groaned with pain and rolled on the floor, regretting his hasty decision to consume a bottle of a popular insecticide.
While he screamed for help, his friends surrounded him and tried to rush him to a hospital for medical help.
However, it was already too late, as the insecticide had damaged his vital organs beyond remedy.
Adegoke, a 200-level student of Electrical Electronic at the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, bought the insecticide from a patent medicine store after losing his school fees and those of his friend to online sports betting.
The 22-year-old died on the day he was supposed to sit his first semester exam in the second year of his academic programme.
The deceased was said to be an heir to the throne of a town in Osun State.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that Adegoke had two roommates, Jacob Israel and Mustapha Olaniyi, squatting with him in his apartment outside the school premises.
Olaniyi, who spoke to our correspondent, alleged that the deceased was addicted to betting.
He said, “Samuel (Adegoke) was a quiet person; he hardly talked. He read a lot, he would not sleep at night; he would always go for night reading, leaving home in the evening and coming back in the morning. But he liked betting and had lost a lot of money to it in the past.”
Prior to the fateful day, Adegoke was reported to have used his school fees to bet but lost.
Apparently, in a bid to recoup the funds, he reportedly tricked one of his roommates, Israel, got hold of his phone and withdrew N60,000 from his bank account.
Our correspondent gathered that Adegoke and Israel were close friends, who met after their admission into the polytechnic.
Further investigation showed that the victim took Israel to his hometown in Osun State to introduce him to his parents.
His parents were said to have treated Israel as their child, as they extended whatever they bought for their son to him as well.
Narrating what led to Adegoke’s death, Israel said, “What happened was that in the morning of the incident, we were coming from a night class. I received an alert my daddy, sent to me as my school fees; N100,000. It was around 5:43am. Samuel (Adegoke), being my close friend, I showed him, because he told me that his dad sent his own since but I was not aware.
“We went home together. I slept in the room, he went to the other room because we were living in a two-room apartment. Later, he came back to the room, woke me up and asked me to give him my phone. I gave him the phone because he was my close friend. He withdrew N100,000 from my account because he knew my PIN. Because he was my best friend, I opened up to him.
“I did not know that he had withdrawn money from my account. After some hours, I told him I wanted to go to school to pay my school fees and asked we should go together. As we were going to the school, he was still with my phone. When we got to the school market, I asked for my phone; that was when he told me that he had used my money for betting.
“I collected my phone and confirmed that he had withdrawn N100,000 from my account and I saw it that he used it to play sport betting.
“He was having an exam that day; I did not have any that day. He went for the exam without paying the school fees. Later, he called me that they sent him out of the exam hall because of the school fees; I was at home when he called me. When he got back home, he met me and Olaniyi, and explained what happened to Olaniyi.
“I was advised to call his parents and tell them, or I should go to the DSA office to report; I knew the implication. I said I would give him more time.
“I later called his parents and told them what happened. I called his mum, who said she could not afford it. His mum advised me to sell his clothes and phone to recoup my money.
