The spokesman for the Delta State Police Command, SP Edafe Bright, has warned Point of Sale (POS) operators to avoid engaging in transactions exceeding N500,000, stating that such transactions could lead to trouble.
In a video sighted by Vanguard on the official X page of the spokesman, while addressing a POS operator, he emphasized that anyone wishing to conduct a transaction above N500,000 should go to the bank instead.
He said, “Anybody who wants to do a transaction above N500,000 should go to the bank. Wherever you are as a POS operator, if you’re receiving too much money, that is unreasonably high. Understand that there is an element of crime involved because these transactions should be done at the bank.”
He continued, “This lady was contacted by a suspect who obtained her POS account number and sent N4 million into the account—money that was taken from a victim who was kidnapped as ransom. Her profit was just N40,000.”
SP Edafe added, “My message to POS operators: transactions above N500,000 can get you into trouble. Don’t be a tool for kidnappers to collect ransom. It will be traced back to you.
She received N4 million in ransom from kidnappers, and her profit was just N40,000. Can you imagine? Be wise. You may argue that you’re doing business, but before your lawyer gets you out, you might spend some time cooling off in prison.”
Also speaking in the video, the POS operator, who did not disclose her name, stated, “Timothy Ogheneochuko is my customer. He collected my POS account number. He has been doing transactions with me—maybe N2,000, N5,000, and so on.
But in this particular instance, he only called me to check my account, and I saw that N4,000,000 had been transferred. My profit from the transaction was N40,000. Then I transferred N1.2 million to Ogheneochuko’s account, and he sent me another account to send the remaining funds.”
The suspect, Timothy Ogheneochuko, revealed that it was his first time transferring such a large amount. He said, “Precious Okpala sent me the money. This was my first time. We often do local fraud, but I didn’t know what they were into.”
Credit: Vanguard News
