Stephen Olufemi Oni 
A man, Akinrotimi Taiwo, suspected to be a principal member of a swindling syndicate who specialised in stealing money from Point of Sales (PoS) agents in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, has been arrested by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) after attempting to defraud a PoS agent on Saturday.
Luck was said to have run out on him at Okekere, Ilorin, while attempting to swindle one Zakariyau Amidu Oniyo, a PoS agent and airtime recharge card as well as a phone accessory dealer, of the sum of N20,000.
It was gathered that Taiwo walked up to Oniyo’s shop, asking that a total sum of N26,000 be transferred electronically to another PoS agent, Omo Mummy Ventures, at Oko Olowo, Ilorin.
Taiwo, according to the operatives of NSCDC, had approached the venture’s owner, Isiaka Abdulrazak, stating that he (Taiwo) was expecting a transfer of the same amount to be made to Omo Mummy from which he would make a withdrawal to pay the POS the charges required.
“The suspect apparently doesn’t want the fraudulent transaction traced to his account. He wanted to make Abdulrazak the fall guy.
“Luck ran out on Taiwo when after the money was transferred to Omo Mummy, and N20,000 from the initial deposit of N26,000 cash vanished from Oniyo’s table after the suspect had distracted him with a request to buy a phone battery.
Oniyo was said to have immediately raised the alarm which attracted people who assisted in getting the suspect arrested.
“We have been on his trail for a long and have been warning our agents and members to be very careful of the suspect,” explained Ridwan Opakunle, Coordinator, of Kwara Association of Point of Sales Professional Agents (KAPPSA).
Also speaking, the NSCDC spokesman, DSC Ayeni Olasunkanmi, said the Command would get to the root of the incident.
“It is quite clear that it goes beyond this singular incident we have now,” he added.