Calling off the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike — which has spanned over five months – would offer a glimmer of hope for students, but it would jolt Ike Anyanwukane, a student of the University of Calabar, back to harsh reality.

Anyanwukane had lost N65,000 meant for his hostel rent to 86 Football Technology Limited, a sports investment platform, which assured him of getting a three per cent return on investment (ROI) daily. But the company soon vanished into thin air. Anyanwuka is currently biting his fingers in regret.

“The day I finally confirmed that my money was not going to come back again, I had sleepless nights for more than a week because the money was meant for my house rent in school. I have never lost such a huge amount of money in my life before. It really taught me a lesson,” he said in a submissive tone.

But Anyanwukane also had a memorable time with the “investment company”, also called 86FB or 86Z.

“I started investing with N3,500 and in a month, I’d get up to N10,000 profit,” the undergraduate said, adding that the high yield encouraged him to plunge more money into the scheme with the hope of cashing out big.

For Olalekan Olamilekan, 86FB’s offer initially seemed too good to be true until he visited the company’s branch office in Ikeja, Lagos state, and was assured of the “genuineness” of the investment.

Olamilekan, who was overwhelmed with emotions as he narrated his ordeal, said he also received reassurance from his friend who introduced him to the business before he finally took the step. Then, he staked N700,000.

Now, he has lost everything, while the renewal of his house rent is just in a few months’ time. Olamilekan doesn’t know where and whom he would turn to for help. Everything seems to be crashing before him.

While most companies would offer a return of 7 to 13 per cent per annum on investment, what 86FB promised investors like Anyanwukane culminated in 1,095 per cent ROI annually — and that’s not all to the lip-smacking offer.

86FB said it had a reverse prediction algorithm and a capital preservation plan, which means “capital is always safe”. Hence, the firm insisted its operations were more like an investment than a betting company, where capital is lost on wrong predictions.

According to the Lagos State Lottery and Gaming Authority (LSLGA), sports betting involves predicting and placing bets on the outcome of different kinds of sports events.

Bettors with 86FB were required to pay money into designated bank accounts or online wallets. They were also mandated to predict unlikely match scores – popularly called anti-correct score betting. An investor told The media that they were paid whether their predictions were right or wrong.