sftp - "protocol error: mtime.sec not present" when using /usr/sbin/nologin

I am trying to use sftp to pull a file from a remote server.

Both client and server-side users are created with adduser --system and their shell is /usr/sbin/nologin. The users are called legit-backup.

Public-key authorisation has been configured for the client user to have SSH access to the server as a user of the same name. When I try to pull down the file /home/legit-backup/test a file using the command sudo -u legit-backup scp legit-backup@<remote-server>:~/test, I receive the error protocol error: mtime.sec not present, no files copy down.

If I change the remote user's shell to /bin/bash then sftp works as normal.

I wan to use /usr/sbin/nologin for security reasons, the user should not be able to have SSH access other than sftp, is it possible?