The Nigeria Police Force has arrested Hafsat Abubakar, a 27-year-old woman accused of creating and circulating a forged document that falsely claimed OPay Nigeria Limited was preparing to shut down its operations.
The arrest followed an investigation by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre after OPay Digital Services Limited petitioned the authorities over the viral document.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Anietie Iniedu, disclosed the development during a press briefing at the NPF National Cybercrime Centre in Abuja on Wednesday.
Iniedu said OPay submitted its petition on August 31 through the office of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja.
The petition requested the investigation, tracing and arrest of those responsible for creating and circulating what the police described as a fraudulent document falsely presented as an official OPay communication.
The document claimed that OPay would suspend its services and stop processing transactions and account-related activities indefinitely. It subsequently circulated across social media platforms, prompting concerns among some users.
The police said its cybercrime investigators used digital forensic tools to trace the origin of the material.
“Upon receipt of the approved petition, the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre, NCCC, deployed digital forensic tools to analyse the content, which was traced to a post on the X handle, @Hafsat_ER_ABBA, registered and operated by one Hafsat Abubakar,” Iniedu said.
According to the police spokesman, operatives of the NCCC arrested Abubakar on September 4. He identified her as a graduate of Library and Information Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
The arrest comes after OPay publicly rejected the shutdown report and warned customers against relying on unverified information.
OPay’s Head of Corporate Communications, Folayemi Joshua, had described the purported shutdown notice as “completely false” and said the company remained fully operational. The fintech also urged customers to verify information through its official communication channels.
The company had earlier involved the Nigeria Police Force and Department of State Services in the investigation, with its Chief Legal Counsel, Akinfolabi Rokosu, saying the company had provided evidence to help identify those responsible.
The police said the investigation is still ongoing and warned against the creation and circulation of fabricated information that could cause public panic, financial disruption or damage to the reputation of businesses.
The development places renewed attention on the consequences of digitally fabricated documents, particularly when they target financial institutions and could influence customers’ decisions about their money.
