ABUJA, Nigeria — In a major crackdown on digital misinformation, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has arrested a 27-year-old university graduate for allegedly fabricating and circulating a viral false alarm claiming that financial tech giant OPay Digital Services Limited was shutting down its operations across Nigeria.
Tripod Times reports that the suspect, identified as Hafsat Abubakar, a graduate of Library and Information Science from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, was picked up by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC). The high-tech arrest followed an intense digital forensic investigation tracking a fraudulent “Official Note” that triggered widespread panic among millions of mobile banking users.
The Digital Paper Trail
According to the Force Public Relations Officer, Anietie Iniedu, during a press briefing in Abuja, the clampdown was initiated by a formal petition submitted by OPay on August 31, 2026. Cyber-detectives deployed advanced forensic tools to track the malicious document—which featured an obsolete OPay logo, misspelled branding, and a forged management signature—back to an X (formerly Twitter) handle operated by Abubakar.
The fabricated graphic alleged that OPay would suspend all transaction processing and account services indefinitely starting September 1, 2026. The post explicitly urged millions of users to rapidly withdraw their deposits, threatening to ignite an artificial, panic-driven run on the massive digital financial platform.
Fintech Stability vs. Cyber Sabotage
While the fake document was quickly dismissed as “completely false and malicious” by OPay’s Head of Corporate Communications, Folayemi Joshua, the real-world panic it sparked highlighted the fragile nature of consumer trust in Nigeria’s booming fintech space.
The legal arm of the digital bank, led by Chief Legal Counsel Akinfolabi Rokosu, aggressively pushed security agencies to make an example of the publisher to deter future economic sabotage.
Regulatory bodies have since reassured the public that OPay, as a fully licensed institution under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with deposits insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), remains completely operational and financially secure.
Abubakar remains in police custody as investigations continue to identify any potential digital accomplices. The police have warned that anyone intentionally generating or sharing synthetic panics targeted at financial institutions will face the full weight of the Cybercrimes Act.
