Kessington Adebutu, Nigeria’s gambling mogul whose business empire has
enjoyed decades of patronage as a household name across the country, has
become a new target of a vast corruption investigation by the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), PREMIUM TIMES can report.
As
part of the investigation on Tuesday, anti-graft detectives at the EFCC
office in Lagos detained and questioned Segun Adebutu, son of the
octogenarian, questioning him on matters ranging from alleged tax fraud
to economic sabotage, sources familiar with the development told PREMIUM
TIMES.
Anti-graft officials said Mr Adebutu’s business
activities recently became a subject of their suspicion following a
petition from another betting company, Western Lotto. The December 2019
petition from Western Lotto, run by politician Buruji Kashamu, asked the
EFCC to investigate billions of naira in lost government revenues and
tax fraud against Mr Adebutu’s Premier Lotto. PREMIUM TIMES saw a copy
of the petition on Tuesday.
Officials told PREMIUM TIMES they
have identified at least N5 billion in revenue losses against the
government since the investigation began — directly blaming the
management of Premier Lotto for allegedly shortchanging Nigerians.
Mr
Adebutu did not return PREMIUM TIMES’ request for comments about the
arrest and ongoing investigation into his company. Officials at Premier
Lotto office in Abuja declined comments.
Tony Orilade, chief
spokesperson for the EFCC, did not immediately return a request seeking
comments about the arrest and ongoing investigation into Premier Lotto
and other lottery operators.
‘More lucrative than oil’
The
multiple allegations of tax fraud and economic sabotage levelled
against Mr Adebutu marked a remarkable tumble for one of the Nigerian
bookies most powerful and admired personality.
Far known as ‘Baba
Ijebu’, Mr Adebutu has been widely hailed as pioneering inclusive
gambling in Nigeria and shooting it into the mainstream. Although it was
only in 2001 that he registered Premier Lotto, the betting franchise
that accounts for the largest share of his wealth, Mr Adebutu’s
reputation as a driving force of Nigerian gambling trade has spanned
decades before its commercialisation.
Segun Adebutu is only one
of at least four children who are management officials at Premier Lotto,
PREMIUM TIMES learnt. Some of them are also top executives of the
regulatory federal lottery board.
The success of Mr Adebutu’s
betting exploits imbued former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s interest in
establishing a federal agency to regulate lotteries across Nigeria in
2005. Several private entities have since sprung up, taking bets from
multiple sporting activities, especially football.
But the raging
allegations against Premier Lotto, by far the largest betting
conglomerate in Nigeria, could deal a setback to the industry’s hopes
for competing with banking in the financial services sub-sector,
according to officials familiar with the investigation.
PREMIUM
TIMES learnt that several other betting companies are currently being
investigated as part of the sprawling inquiry into how betting funds
were being handled across the country, with the bookies being dogged by
multiple allegations of sharp practices, including claims they had been
withholding funds meant for winning customers in order to maximise the
bank interest on such funds.
“The lottery business is now more
lucrative than oil,” a source familiar with the investigation told
PREMIUM TIMES. “What we have found out will shock Nigerians by the time
our investigation has been concluded.”
No charges have been filed
because more betting companies are still being investigated for similar
allegations, although on a scale lower than Premier Lotto’s, an
official said.
Multiple officials at the lottery commission have
been notified of the raging investigation, with concerned companies
already asked to submit their financial records to anti-graft detectives
in Lagos and Abuja, according to documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES.
A
lottery commission official confirmed the investigation to PREMIUM
TIMES on Tuesday, but accused Mr Kashamu of triggering it because he
wanted to dominate a section of the betting business in Nigeria.
“What
we learnt is that Buruji Kashamu said he has sole rights to ‘Ghana
Games’ in Nigeria,” an official said under anonymity because the lottery
commission was still considering a unified response to the EFCC
investigation. “But he should not burn down the entire industry to
implement his business interests.”
The official said an
association of betting companies would soon meet to form a coordinated
response to the EFCC investigation that was triggered by Mr Kashamu’s
alleged “anti-industry practices.”
Mr Kashamu, who is wanted for
an unrelated drug offense in the U.S. for which he has denied
culpability, told PREMIUM TIMES he petitioned the EFCC about corruption
in the betting industry, but deemphasised allegations of being a
disgruntled player in the business, saying he had taken the matter to
court and was now only concerned about the interest of Nigerians.
“All
the taxpayers’ billions they diverted should have been paid into the
lottery commission trust fund to build infrastructure and alleviate
poverty amongst the Nigerian masses,” the politician said. “I urge
Nigerians to continue to pressure the EFCC to investigate and charge all
those responsible for sabotaging the country’s economy without any pity
for the masses.”