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A woman arrested by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre for allegedly circulating a fraudulent notice announcing the shutdown of OPay’s operations has expressed deep regret, admitting that she failed to verify the content before reposting it online.
Identified as Hafsat Abubakar, the suspect explained that she deleted the post and issued a public apology immediately after OPay brought the misleading publication to her attention on social media.
Speaking in a video recorded while being paraded by police operatives at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, September 10, 2026, Abubakar admitted she shared the notice without cross-checking its authenticity with OPay or the original publisher.
Responding to inquiries on whether she confirmed the details before sharing, she stated, “No, I didn’t.”
Abubakar explained that she realized the gravity of the post after OPay published a debunking notice on its official social media platforms, directly tagging her account, @HAIFAH_ER_ABBA. She said, “So I saw the post on Twitter where they wrote my name there and my handle, @HAIFAH_ER_ABBA. That’s where they called my attention on Twitter to take it down and render a public apology, which I made the same day.”
She added that her apology clarified that she acted out of ignorance without intending to harm the company.
Despite complying with the takedown request, Abubakar was subsequently arrested after OPay submitted a formal petition to law enforcement authorities.
Recounting her arrest, she noted, “After I apologised for about five days, which was on September 4, I was arrested by the Nigeria Police at home. When I asked what my offence was, they said OPay filed a petition against me, and they were also investigating the case, so I had to come to Abuja with them from Zaria, Kaduna State.”
According to police reports, the NPF National Cybercrime Centre received the petition from OPay Digital Services Limited on August 31, 2026, through the office of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department.
Digital forensics experts subsequently tracked the circulation of the fabricated document—which featured OPay’s corporate branding, logo, and a forged management endorsement—leading to Abubakar’s arrest and the recovery of three mobile phones.
Advising social media users against spreading unverified content, Abubakar urged the public to exercise caution when engaging with online information.
She stated, “My advice to the whole of Nigeria is to first verify before posting anything. Either posting or sharing, we have to verify and stop posting or spreading false information. OPay is one of my favourite companies and I enjoy doing business with them. I don’t wish them any harm or to spoil their reputation. Yes, I never knew the information was false. I wouldn’t have posted it.” Reaffirming her remorse, she added, “I regret my actions and any trouble that I have caused them. I’m very sorry.”
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