Point-of-sorrow

From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi

If you are a Point-of-Sale (POS) operator, or intend to become one any moment soon, then you need to heed this warning: beware of people who come to you wanting to use your machine or account number to transfer huge sums of money.

For all you care, they could be kidnappers. And if you fall for their gimmicks, pleading ignorance or innocence may not save you from the wrath of the law. So? Beware! Kidnappers have changed tactics. And, any wrong move in your bid to make fast money can land you in big trouble you never imagined. Ask Ajah Emeka, a Benue State-based POS operator. A supposed kindness he showed to a client has now landed him in trouble with the law.

A businessman who operates a POS shop, in addition to other petty businesses in Chitto community of Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State, he is now in the net of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) as an accomplice in a case of kidnap and ransom-taking.

Lamentation of POS operator

He broke down recently and wept like a child when he was paraded alongside some suspected kidnappers. According to Emeka, one Abraham Toryem. popularly known as Jabi, had approached him to help a friend, who turned out to be his in-law, transfer some money which Jabi allegedly claimed was to be used to start a rice farm business.

Without knowing that he had been sold a dummy, Emeka innocently gave Jabi his POS account number to use to transfer the money.  But trouble started for the POS operator when after the transfer, his account was frozen by his bank for no apparent reason.

He explained his plight to Saturday Sun. Hear him: “I asked him what the money was for. He said somebody wanted to send it to him so that he could help him start a rice farm. He said he didn’t have an account. I innocently gave him mine. Shortly afterwards, I discovered that my account had been blocked. I went to Makurdi to lodge a complaint with my bank. It was at the bank that I was directed to the NSCDC State Command. Again I innocently went there. If I were a criminal, I wouldn’t have gone either to the bank or to the security office, knowing full well what had happened. But out of my innocent heart, I went as directed. When I did, I was detained. It was while I was in detention that I was told what exactly happened. Actually, I came here to Makurdi twice to know what was happening. They asked that I be marched into the cell. It was the second day that they told me that I was being detained because my bank account number was used to receive some ransom money. I was surprised to learn that.”

He said it was in order not go to into anything criminal that made him, on graduation from the university some years ago, start struggling to build up his small business. He then wondered why someone he wanted to help would deceive him into abetting a crime he knew nothing about.

“I have been into this POS business since I graduated from Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT) about five years ago,” he said. “I started doing this transfer of a thing when POS was not rampant.”

Asked why he gave his bank account number to someone he never knew to use, he answered: “Chitto is a remote village and I do help out people with my POS. There is no bank in that village. From Chitto to Zaki-Biam where you can get banks, you will need to pay about N600 transport fare to get there. People usually find it difficult to go to the bank so I do help them. I have a very big POS stand in Chitto. So, out of kindness, this guy came to my shop. I like to see young people make progress because, after school, I too had a lot of challenges before I could secure a job. 

“When he came, he lied to me that his Oga (boss) wanted him to start a rice farm. I did not know that it was money gotten from kidnapping. He told me that the battery of his phone was flat and asked if he could use my account number.  At that time, I had a lot of customers in my shop. So, I sent my bank account number to the person that was to do the transfer as a text message. But after some money was wired in there I discovered that my account was frozen. That was in January 2022. I didn’t even know what was happening. But when I came to inquire, I was thrown inside the cell. I’ve been here for 40 days now.” 

Pointing to Toryem who was paraded along with him, he said: “This is the guy that came to my shop. I know him very well. His name is Jabi. He came with somebody claiming that they wanted to buy a rice farm. He used me.”

But a mild drama took place when, on turning full circle to face him, he told him point-blank: “I’m suffering and you’re happy. You know what you have done to me? You have shattered my life. What have I done to you to deserve this? You have dealt with me.” He then broke down.

Denials and confirmations

But Toryem or Jabi, the man at the centre of the storm is also pleading ignorance and innocence of the crime. He claimed it was his brother-in-law, one Sebastine Hidejime that approached him for help so that they could get some money through cash transfer. According to him, he did so without knowing what the money was all about.

His story: “At a certain time, my in-law who married my sister said I should help him get where he could make a cash withdrawal. So, I took him to Emeka. I didn’t know that my brother-in-law was into kidnapping. It was later that Emeka told me that the cash transfer we did through his account that day had landed him in trouble. I didn’t know either that it was bad business. I thought I was helping a brother-in-law.”

Hidejime, the prime suspect, not only corroborated Jabi and Emeka’s claims of ignorance and innocence but also confessed to being a member of a kidnap gang that specialises in hijacking cars and buses. He said his gang only used Emeka and Jabi to get the ransom money, even as he insisted that the two men knew absolutely nothing about the whole deal

“It was one of my friends who asked me to help him get someone who would be able to help him withdraw money and I told him that my in-law lives at Chitto. So, I called him to help my friend collect the money.”  He told Saturday Sun: “I’m a member of a kidnap gang but other members didn’t let me know when they eventually got the ransom money. Since I was arrested, I’ve been making calls to them to come but they haven’t done so. We are about four in that gang but the one I know personally among them is called Tugi. In truth, my in-law and his POS friend know nothing about this business. We only used them to get the ransom money from our victims.”

Arrests and warnings

NSCDC Benue State Commandant, Dr Philip Okoh who paraded the suspects at the state Command’s headquarters in Makurdi, gave details of how the money was traced to the POS account of Ajah Emeka. He said that the suspected kidnappers abducted a bus with 18 passengers on December 12, 2021.

“The bus took off from Artisan Market near Federal University, Wukari in Taraba State but was later diverted to Ukum LGA of Benue State. The vehicle was carrying 18 passengers.” One of the kidnapped victims was later released, he explained, after he paid N300, 000 ransom. Others, it was gathered, also paid some ransom in various sums to the kidnappers before they were later released. Okoh informed that unknown to the suspects, the bank account that was used to collect the money was being tracked and as soon as the money was paid into it, the account was blocked and the matter was reported to NSCDC.

It was later discovered that the said account belonged to a POS operator who, out of ignorance, gave it to a customer to transfer the said money without knowing that it was for ransom.

“From our investigation, we discovered that some POS operators were used in transferring the funds. That’s why one of the POS operators is here. They transferred, first of all, N300, 000, then another N250, 000. Then another POS operator received N200, 000 on different days and times. The arrests were made at various times. One was made on February 11, 2022, and another on January 7. The prime suspects were arrested on February 11.”

The NSCDC boss issued a warning to all POS operators nationwide. “I want to use this forum to warn those who operate POS that if somebody comes to your stand and asks for your phone to use your account number on the grounds that somebody is transferring money to him or her, be wary of such persons. Be very careful.”

He stressed that such transfers could land them in big trouble. “Anybody who wants to do transaction should come with ATM and not transfer. We discovered that it was the phone number of one of the POS operators that was used to negotiate the ransom, unknown to him what they were doing. So, POS operators have to be very careful in doing their business so that they don’t run into trouble,” he warned.