Ayomidele Oluwasusi
A visually-impaired widow in Nigeria’s southeastern state of Anambra fell victim to a yet-to-be-identified woman who allegedly stole her Automated Teller Machine card and emptied her account of over ₦2 million within minutes, police said, with a manhunt launched for the suspect.
The incident reportedly took place over the weekend at an ATM point in Nnewi, the Nnewi North Local Government Area of the state.
The theft was uncovered on Tuesday when the widow lodged a complaint about receiving multiple debit alerts.
CCTV footage from the bank revealed the moment the suspect swapped the victim’s ATM card with a fake one.
The 42-second video, which has since gone viral on social media, shows the suspect, dressed in a red top and black trousers, taking advantage of the elderly woman’s visual impairment under the pretence of offering assistance.
Recounting her experience at the bank on Thursday, the distraught widow said she had struggled to operate the ATM due to her visual impairment.
“I went to the ATM to withdraw some cash, but I couldn’t operate the machine properly because of my condition. A lady standing nearby offered to help me,” the victim told a local news outlet.
“She took my card, got my PIN, and swapped it with an expired one. I was unaware of what had happened until I started receiving debit alerts on my phone. Within minutes, she had withdrawn over N2 million from my account.
“This is such a devastating experience, especially at a time when I desperately need funds to make transactions.”
When contacted, a bank official who spoke on condition of anonymity urged customers, particularly vulnerable individuals, to avoid disclosing their PINs to strangers.
The Anambra State Police Command confirmed the incident, with spokesman SP Tochukwu Ikenga noting that Commissioner of Police CP Aderemi Adeoye ordered the deployment of all intelligence-gathering tools to track down the suspect.
“The Command is aware of a trending video showing a lady at an ATM in Nnewi swapping the card of a 58-year-old visually-impaired woman and withdrawing N2 million in parts,” Ikenga said.
“The CP has directed investigators to reach out to the victim and gather all necessary information to aid the probe. We are also urging residents of Nnewi and surrounding areas to provide any useful information that could lead to the arrest of the suspect and her possible accomplices.”
Ikenga assured the public that the police would work tirelessly to bring the suspect to justice, emphasizing the importance of community involvement in tackling such crimes.
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