Police Arrest Woman Over False OPay Shutdown Notice on X

The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) has arrested an X user, Hafsat Abubakar, over a false notice alleging that digital financial services platform OPay would shut down operations.

The suspect was arrested on September 4 following a digital forensic investigation and online tracing operation launched by the police to identify the source of the widely circulated publication.

The false notice, which gained significant traction on social media, claimed that OPay would shut down on September 1 and suspend all transaction processing indefinitely. It also urged customers to withdraw their funds immediately to avoid possible inconvenience.

OPay subsequently dismissed the publication as false and threatened legal action against its author.

In a statement issued on Thursday, NPF spokesperson Ani Iniedu said the investigation traced the publication to an X handle, @haifah_er_abba, allegedly operated by Abubakar.

According to the police, the suspect later shared the notice through another X account, @CUTE_HAFSERH, where she tagged social media influencers and captioned the post, “REMOVE YOUR MONEY NOW.”

The police said preliminary investigations showed that Abubakar claimed to have obtained the notice from a WhatsApp status.

The publication reportedly attracted approximately 572,000 views within minutes of being posted, prompting further investigation by the NPF-NCCC.

Three Apple mobile phones were reportedly recovered from the suspect as exhibits.

The police said investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the creation and dissemination of the false notice and to establish whether other individuals were involved.

Iniedu added that Abubakar, alongside any other persons found culpable, would be charged to court upon completion of the investigation.