POS Operators Can’t Be Jailed for Fraudulent Transactions They Didn’t Know About – Human Right Lawyers
Police across Nigeria have come under fire for arresting Point-of-Sale (POS) operators simply because fraudulent funds passed through their machines, with lawyers insisting such actions violate the law.
Legal experts say a POS operator cannot face criminal charges merely for dispensing cash from a tainted transfer.
Under Nigerian law, guilt demands both a wrongful act (actus reus) and a guilty mind (mens rea). Sections 24 of the Criminal Code Act (applicable in Southern Nigeria) and 37 of the Penal Code (Northern Nigeria) shield anyone acting without knowledge, intent, or recklessness from liability.
POS Machines Don’t Reveal Fund Sources, POS businesses, licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), operate legally as cash-out points.
Operators verify successful transfers and dispense cash, they are not detectives. “No POS machine displays the origin of funds,” one legal practitioner noted. “Expecting operators to investigate every transaction turns them into unpaid police.”Fraud statutes, including the Advance Fee Fraud Act and Cybercrimes Act, target only those who knowingly participate in or aid scams.
Receiving funds and paying out cash, without more, isn’t criminal.
Prosecutors must prove the operator’s awareness of the fraud beyond reasonable doubt.
KASONGO: A STATE WHERE OPPOSITION IS TREASON
Arrests Breach Constitutional Rights:
Such arrests without evidence infringe Section 35 (personal liberty) and Section 36 (presumption of innocence) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“Innocent operators are scapegoats in the war on fraud,” warned a rights group. Only those proven to collude with fraudsters deserve punishment.
https://radionigeria.gov.ng/2026/02/03/kebbi-sponsors-35-students-to-study-in-ethiopia/
The CBN’s POS guidelines reinforce this: operators report suspicious activities, but routine transactions don’t trigger arrests.
Calls grow for police retraining to focus on real perpetrators, not foot soldiers.
