In a developing case of a suspected kidnap ransom transaction in Delta State, a yet-to-be-identified Point of Sale (PoS) operator has spoken out, claiming she was unaware of the criminal activities behind a N4 million deposit into her account.
The operator was questioned in a video by the Public Relations Officer for state Police Command, Superintendent Bright Edafe, and published on his X page on Thursday as part of an investigation into a kidnapping incident.
The operator said that she was contacted by a customer, Timothy Ogenechukwu, who had previously conducted smaller transactions with her.
“He has been doing transactions with me; maybe at times N5,000 or N2,000″, she told the police.
However, this time, the transaction was significantly larger — N4 million. According to her, Ogenechukwu did not provide any clear reason for the massive deposit.
“He only called me that morning and said I should check my account”, she recounted.
She claimed she had no prior knowledge that the money in question was related to criminal activity, specifically a ransom payment from a kidnapping victim.
“I didn’t know”, she said, emphasising that she thought it was another business transaction, similar to their past interactions.
However, she admitted to making a profit of N40,000 from the transaction.
“My profit is N40,000″, she said.
During the interrogation, Edafe pressed her on the nature of her relationship with Ogenechukwu, questioning if she understood the implications of allowing large sums to be transferred through her account.
The officer highlighted that the funds originated from a victim who had been kidnapped and suggested that the PoS operator’s role in receiving and distributing the money could make her complicit in the crime.
Earlier in the video, the police spokesman had warned that PoS operators should be mindful of who they do transactions with, especially if such transactions are relatively high.
He said: “I have been talking and educating people on social media, particularly PoS operators. Any person who wants to do transactions above N500,000 should go to the bank.
“Whenever you ask a PoS operator if you are receiving money too much that is unreasonably high, understand that there is an element of crime in it because they are supposed to go to the bank”.
