Nigerian court orders bettor to repay ₦4.5m from platform glitch

The High Court of Kogi State, sitting in Lokoja, has dismissed a claim by Isah Alih for more than ₦180m in alleged winnings and found for the operator's counterclaim. Justice Moses M. Gwatana handed down the ruling on 14 October 2026, ordering Alih to repay approximately ₦4.5m withdrawn from his betting account during a platform malfunction.

The dispute stems from a technical fault that hit the operator's platform in September 2025. Court documents shared by the law firm Allen & Marylebone show that the glitch made certain transactions raise customer balances rather than lower them, and some accounts were credited with sums that did not reflect genuine gambling winnings. Alih's balance reportedly rose to more than ₦190m during the incident, and he cashed out roughly ₦4.5m prior to the mistake being spotted and fixed.

Once the company had returned affected accounts to their correct balances and undone the erroneous credits, Alih sued, contending that more than ₦180m was legitimate winnings owed to him. The court rejected those arguments, ruling that the ₦4.5m already withdrawn did not come from genuine betting winnings.

The court additionally ordered the claimant to pay ₦150,000 in general damages, with post-judgment interest of 10% per year accruing until the sum is fully paid. The source does not state whether an appeal has been filed.