By Our Correspondent
LAGOS — Legal luminary and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Monday O. Ubani, has sounded the alarm over the growing abuse of Point of Sale (POS) terminals by criminals, warning that the once-innovative financial tool has now been hijacked by kidnappers, fraudsters, and money launderers.
In a strongly worded statement titled “The Urgent Need to Regulate POS Transactions in Nigeria’s Financial Ecosystem”, Ubani said Nigeria is at risk of becoming a haven for untraceable financial crimes if urgent reforms are not undertaken by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other stakeholders.
“What began as a revolutionary tool to improve access to financial services in underserved communities is now being weaponised by criminals,” Ubani warned. “POS agents are being used as channels for laundering billions of naira, particularly by kidnappers who demand ransoms via these terminals with no trace left behind.”
Ubani’s concern was sparked by a conversation with a High Court Judge in Eastern Nigeria, who confided in him about the growing number of unresolved criminal cases involving POS transactions. The judge, according to Ubani, revealed that suspects in multimillion-naira ransom and fraud cases often go unpunished because funds passed through POS agents cannot be traced to any verified individuals.
“In one shocking case, the family of a kidnap victim paid ₦90 million through POS transfers. When it got to court, neither the POS agents nor the recipients could be identified. There were no records. The criminals vanished without a trace,” Ubani said.
He blamed the failure of regulation for the growing menace, pointing out that many POS agents operate without licensing, proper identification, or adherence to Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols.
“It’s almost like an underground economy. There is no oversight. Anyone can start a POS business, move huge sums of money, and walk away without any accountability,” he said.
Ubani
