Security & Crime
Police detain two individuals involved in ATM swap in Niger
Two suspects have been detained by the Niger State Police Command on suspicion of possessing nine ATM cards that were purportedly switched from victims in the states of Kogi and Nasarawa.
The suspects were detained last Thursday at the Old NEPA roundabout in Suleja, according to the Command through Public Relations Officer, PRO, DSP Abiodun Wasiu. Their attempt to exchange a woman’s ATM card at a commercial bank’s ATM gallery resulted in their detention.
Aver Wese, age 31, from Obudu, Cross-Rivers State, and Godwin Deor, age 30, from Ankpa, Kogi State, are among the accused.
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According to a police spokesman, the suspects quickly fled the area in a Toyota Corolla bearing registration number YAB 267 CW after the woman noticed the attempt and set off an alarm.
He claims that after being notified, the police patrol squad followed the car and caught them at the Old NEPA roundabout in Suleja.
The driver, a man named David Therma, fled the car and was apprehended along with the other two accused.
Abiodun added that the suspects admitted following questioning that they were both from Lokoja and had met David Therma, who had allegedly stolen the car from an Uber driver in Abuja.
The suspects stated in a news interview that they were Benue State University graduates with a degree in Educational Technology and that they had been a part of the illegal enterprise for the previous five months.
“We took about N170,000 out of other victims’ accounts in Nasarawa State; we took about N90,000 out of victims’ cards in Lokoja, and we attempted a similar operation in Suleja, but it failed,” they said.
Nine ATM cards, a POS machine, a flash drive, and a Toyota Corolla with registration number YAB 267 CW were among the items found on the suspects.
The police spokesperson went on to say that David Therma is still on the run and that the suspects are presently being investigated further at SCID Minna.
