Driscoll observed, “This year has been a dark one in the world of opera—and in the world in general. We have been blessed to have the glorious artistry of Dame Janet Baker, Cecilia Bartoli and Lawrence Brownlee as a source of inspiration and light. In this year, which marks the first time that the OPERA NEWS Awards will be celebrated virtually, it is fitting that we will honor three singers who stand as champions of innovation and change in music and in the world.” 

Information about tickets for the 2021 OPERA NEWS Awards virtual gala will be released in January.

Proceeds from the virtual gala will benefit the education programs of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, which publishes OPERA NEWS. A portion of each ticket purchase is tax-deductible as allowed by law. For event information, or to purchase tickets, please visit the Metropolitan Opera Guild website (www.metguild.org), or call 212-769-7009.

About OPERA NEWS: OPERA NEWS has been published by the Metropolitan Opera Guild since 1936. Editor in chief F. Paul Driscoll helms the monthly, which is a winner of six ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards for excellence in music journalism. For more information and the latest news on opera, visit operanews.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

The 19-year-old student was said to have invested over N300 million belonging to his colleagues and friends in a business run by ESG.

Speaking to SaharaReporters, a friend of the deceased and an investor with the firm explained how they were duped.

He said, "The investment is forex. The guy's name is Eseka Chuckwutem Gospel. We started the investment together this year. It seems he stopped trading, so he turned indirectly to a Ponzi scheme without the knowledge of those investing.

"He has a particular group. Most people in that group collected money from other people to invest in his business. The late Gbenga collected money from different people to invest with ESG at a certain percentage.

"Later on, the investment crashed, and the guy was arrested. With the help of some senior police officials, he was released. So over time, people that were with ESG as investors( they had borrowed money to invest) were now being pressurized to repay the loan they took. I am one of the investors, too; we were under a lot of pressure to pay up. So I think because of this guy's age, he is just 19-year-old, he couldn't withstand the pressure and committed suicide."

A course mate of the deceased said he assured them that forex is not a Ponzi scheme and that he had back up funds, much enough to pay every one of his investors their capital and profits even if things went wrong.

"It's so sad; I have over N5m investment deal with him. He claimed to be the one doing the trading initially, but when the problem started around June, he started mentioning one Eseka Chuckwutem Gospel as his boss. He told us they were arrested together, but that our money was safe with him. 

He later promised to pay everyone's capital before December. I was surprised when I saw people posting his pictures with RIP today," he told SaharaReporters.