The incident occurred on Friday evening at Aba branch satellite market near the Ehime Mbano council headquarters.
Three young men have been reported killed in Umuezeala community in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, following a disagreement over N50 bet.
The incident occurred on Friday evening at Aba branch satellite market near the Ehime Mbano council headquarters.
According to a statement released by the spokesperson for the state police, Orlando Ikeokwu, one Chidubem Mbamara walked into a betting shop, played his bet worth N600 but unfortunately wasn't with enough money to pay.
He was said to have paid only N150 and deposited his phone to get the balance.
But on return, he reportedly paid additional N400, making it a total deposit of N550 while promising to pay a balance of N50 at a later date.
The statement read, “He paid one hundred and fifty naira (N150) and deposited his phone, went home to get some money. On his return, he paid four hundred naira, making it a total of five hundred and fifty naira (N550), and promised to pay the balance of fifty naira (N50) at a later date.
“This led to serious altercation between him and one Henry Obi (manager of the bet shop).
“Sequel to the altercation, the said Chidubem Mbamara left, only to return some minutes later with a locally made pistol.
“He then shot at the said Henry Obi. As a result, three persons were hit by the bullet, Henry Obi, Chibuike Iwunze and Ebuka, whose surname is unknown.”
The police spokesperson added that the gunshots attracted a mob, which pounced on Mbamara and beat him to death.
While Obi and Ebuka were confirmed dead in the hospital on Saturday morning, Iwunze was said to be in critical condition.