Two suspects have been arrested by the police operatives attached to Bida 'A', Division Niger State Command, for ATM swapping.
In a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Wasiu Abiodun, the suspects, Philip Adefemi, 46 years old, and Joseph Michael, 42 years old, all of Masaka Area of Nasarawa State, were arrested by the police on May 18, 2024, when a case of ATM card swapping was reported at Bida 'A' division.
SP Wasiu Abiodun said the victim was at a commercial bank in Bida on the same date, about to withdraw money, and when he inserted his ATM card into the machine, it was unable to dispense cash.
As a result of this development, the person behind the victim at the ATM gallery requested to assist him, and in the process, unknown to the victim, his ATM was swapped, while a few minutes later, he received a debit alert of N400,000.00.
On receipt of the complaint, the police operatives from the division swung into action and arrested the suspects, while one Bala escaped in the process.
The PPRO in the statement further explained that in the course of the preliminary investigation, 42 ATM cards were recovered from the suspects, including those of the victim and a Mercedes-Benz C230 with Reg Number KUJ 44 NT.
During police interrogation, SP Abiodun disclosed that the suspects claimed that they were coming from Abuja and heading to Offa, Kwara State, for a burial, and they decided to spend a night at Bida while in the morning they tried to get some victims ATM cards.
The suspects, according to the statement, confessed further that most of the cards used for swapping are expired, and they used the victim's cards to withdraw after observing the password at the ATM machine.
The suspects, SP Wasiu Abiodun said, were under investigation, and they would be charged in court as soon as the investigations were concluded.