Nigerian lottery billionaire Kessington Adebutu donates $600,000 office to Lagos security fund

Nigerian lottery tycoon Kessington Adebutu, the founder of Premier Lotto, has handed Lagos State a new headquarters for its security trust fund, a multi-storey building he paid for in full, along with five patrol vehicles for security operations in Africa's biggest city.

Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu commissioned the building on Friday in Ikeja's Central Business District, ending nearly two decades in which the Lagos State Security Trust Fund worked out of rented offices. The project, valued at more than N800 million ($600,000) when work began, was completed 10 months after Sanwo-Olu broke ground in December. The fund's board has named it the Sir Kessington Adebutu Security Trust Fund Building.

Adebutu turns 91 on Saturday.

"I, therefore, regard my modest contribution to this project not merely as philanthropy but as a sacred obligation of gratitude to our Almighty Creator," Adebutu said at the ceremony. He described the building as "an enduring testament to our collective commitment to safeguarding lives and property."

Sanwo-Olu called the donation "a remarkable gesture." "I am deeply grateful for his continued support of Lagos State," he said, adding that the building must help the fund work more closely with its contributors. "A building is only as good as the results it produces."

A fund built on private money

The trust fund was set up by state law in 2007 to raise money from companies and individuals for the police and other security agencies operating in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital. It supports those agencies with equipment, logistics and other help.

Adebutu is one of its largest and longest-standing donors. When Sanwo-Olu broke ground on the site on Assbifi Road in December, Ayodele Ogunsan, the fund's executive secretary, said Adebutu had agreed to "solely undertake the construction of this office complex as a donation to the Fund." Adebutu promised then to deliver the building, fully furnished, by October 2026.

The new offices will also serve as a one-stop shop for companies and individuals that fund security operations in the state. "We encourage more organisations and individuals to join this partnership," Ogunsan said on Friday.

From salesman to lottery king

Born in Iperu, in neighboring Ogun State, in October 1935, Adebutu worked as a salesman at Classic Chemical Ltd., rising to sales manager, before going into pools betting and lottery. Premier Lotto, widely known in Nigeria as "Baba Ijebu," grew into the country's dominant lottery operator, taking small bets through thousands of retail agents in Lagos and southwest Nigeria.

He used the cash from the lottery business to build a portfolio of investments. Through Neemtree Ltd., he is the largest single shareholder in Lagos-based Wema Bank Plc, with a 29.59% stake. He also owns about 10% of mattress maker Vitafoam Nigeria Plc and 69.9% of Arbico Plc, a listed construction company.

His giving has grown in recent years. To mark his 90th birthday last year, he commissioned a N5 billion ($3.75 million) medical research center bearing his name at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and gave N1 billion ($750,000) each to the Sagamu and Ikenne local government areas and to Iperu, his hometown. His Kessington Adebukunola Adebutu Foundation funds scholarships for students from poor families as well as youth and sports programs.

President Bola Tinubu, a former Lagos governor, described Adebutu last year as "a silent giver" and credited him with pioneering the modern lottery business in Nigeria.