Kehinde Fajobi
In a developing case of a suspected kidnap ransom transaction in Delta State, an unidentified Point of Sale (PoS) operator has claimed she was unaware of any criminal activity associated with a N4 million deposit into her account.
The operator was questioned in a video by SP Bright Edafe, the Public Relations Officer for the Delta State Police Command, and the footage was shared on his X page on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation into a kidnapping incident.
In her account, the operator explained 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 5,000 or 2,000,” she stated.
This time, however, the transaction was significantly larger—N4 million. She noted that Ogenechukwu did not provide any clear reason for the substantial deposit.
“He only called me that morning and said I should check my account,” she added.
The operator insisted that she had no prior knowledge that the money was connected to a ransom payment from a kidnapping victim.
“I didn’t know,” she emphasised, explaining that she thought it was simply another business transaction, similar to their previous interactions.
She also revealed that she made a profit of 40,000 Naira from the transaction. “My profit is 40,000,” she said.
During the interrogation, Edafe questioned the nature of her relationship with Timothy and whether she understood the implications of allowing large sums to be transferred through her account. He pointed out that the funds originated from a kidnap victim and suggested that her involvement in receiving and distributing the money could implicate her in the crime.
Earlier in the video, the PPRO cautioned PoS operators to be vigilant about the transactions they conduct, particularly those involving large sums. He remarked, “I have been talking and educating people on social media, particularly PoS operators. Any person who wants to do transactions above 500,000 naira should go to the bank.”
He further advised, “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.”