SportyBet released the total sum of ₦311,098.42, that was locked up in Emmanuel Ikpeama’s betting account on Friday, after a manager of the company saw FIJ’s report.

Emmanuel had been unable to retrieve funds from his Sportybet account for several months due to a One-Time-Password (OTP) security feature introduced in 2021. His phone number was recycled by his service, provider and he has been unable to receive OTPs to facilitate withdrawals ever since.

“It was refunded on Friday. They asked me to get an official report from MTN stating that the line was recycled. I got that report on Monday of last week, and on Friday, they released the funds. They allowed me to withdraw without OTP; they disabled the OTP for me,” Emmanuel told FIJ.

Prior to FIJ’s report, Emmanuel had called on the company for help to no avail.

A manager at SportyBet called Emmanuel after his plight was revealed in an FIJ story and provided a solution eventually. Emmanuel told FIJ one of the company’s managers called him on phone. “He said he saw your story and he took it upon himself to escalate the issue,” said Emmanuel.

Emmanuel has finally withdrawn his money and expressed appreciation to FIJ for its intervention.

“I deeply appreciate your efforts. God bless you,” Emmanuel told FIJ on Tuesday.