Edo Dispatch Rider Fakes Kidnap After Gambling Away ₦1.3m Belonging to Company, Customers

Police say 21-year-old travelled to Abuja, sold his phone and staged disappearance to cover online betting losses.

A 21-year-old dispatch rider in Edo State has been arrested after allegedly gambling away ₦1.3 million belonging to his employer and customers, then staging his own kidnapping to conceal the loss.

The Edo State Police Command said the suspect, identified as David Ekes, a staff member of Dibecs Industry Limited in Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area, confessed to the act after police investigations exposed inconsistencies in his initial claims.

Police spokesperson, ASP Eno Ikoedem, said the case began as a missing person report filed at the Okpella Police Division on January 30, 2026, by a relative of the suspect.

According to the report, Ekes had left his residence on the night of January 27 on a black, unregistered motorcycle, moving from one factory unit to another against company policy, and was not seen afterwards. The motorcycle was later found abandoned along the road to the factory and recovered.

Officers immediately launched a search operation, combing nearby bush paths and documenting the scene as part of an ongoing investigation.

The following morning, January 31, police received information that the “missing” worker had returned on his own in a weakened condition and was taken to a hospital in Okpella. Officers visited him while he received treatment.

After he was discharged, Ekes reportedly told police he had been kidnapped by three unidentified men, forced to trek barefoot through the forest for days, and that money had been withdrawn from his bank account while his mobile phone was taken.

However, further investigation told a different story.

“Discrete investigation revealed that between January 25 and 26, the suspect lost a total sum of ₦1,308,000 belonging to his company and a customer through online gambling on a visual sporty betting platform. He then travelled to Abuja, sold his mobile phone, lodged in a hotel, and deliberately staged his own kidnapping to cover up the financial loss,” the police statement said.

The suspect has since admitted to the crime and is expected to be arraigned in court.

Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Monday Agbonika, warned residents against filing false distress reports and engaging in deceptive acts that waste security resources.

He also cautioned young people against gambling addiction, noting that desperation linked to betting losses often leads to criminal behaviour.