A 27-year-old lady identified as Hafsat Abubakar, who spread false information that one of the Fintech banks in Nigeria, OPAY, had shut down, has expressed regret over her action
The woman, who was arrested by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre, asked Nigerians for forgiveness
Daily Trust reports that the notice, which had since gone viral, emerged last week, claiming that the bank would cease to operate in Nigeria starting from September 1
The development caused panic among Nigerians before the bank dismissed the rumours
Speaking in a recorded video, while being paraded by police on Thursday, Hafsat admitted that she did not verify the information with OPAY before reposting it
Asked whether she confirmed the information from the person who originally shared it before retweeting it, she said, “No, I didn’t”
She said she would not have shared the information had she known it was false, adding that she deleted the post and issued a public apology after OPAY drew her attention to the publication on its official social media pages
Hafsat said she became aware of OPAY’s objection after the company published a notice on its official social media pages, adding that her name and X handle, @HAIFAH_ER_ABBA, were mentioned in the notice
Hafsat said, “So I saw the post on Twitter which they wrote my name there and my handle at @HAIFAH_ER_ABBA That’s where they called my attention on Twitter to take it down and tender a public apology, which I made the apology the same day.”
She said she explained in her apology that she was unaware the information was false and regretted her action
According to her, she subsequently received a police invitation after OPAY filed a petition over the matter
She said, “After I apologised for like about five days, which was on 4th of September, I was arrested by Nigeria Police at home
“When I asked what was my offence, they said OPay filed a petition against me and they are also on investigation on the case, so I have to come to Abuja with them from Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria”
Earlier, the police, in the NPF National Cybercrime Centre said it had on August 31, 2026, received a formal petition from OPAY Digital Services Limited through the office of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department
The petition was requesting an investigation into the creation and circulation of a fraudulent document purportedly issued by the company
The police said its digital forensics team subsequently traced the circulation of the document, leading to Hafsat’s arrest and the recovery of three mobile phones
The document, according to the police, was designed to resemble an official corporate notice, bearing OPay’s logo, corporate branding, company name and a purported management signature and endorsement
It falsely announced that OPAY was shutting down its operations, a development the police said was capable of misleading members of the public and causing unnecessary concern among customers
Hafsat, who said she had an account with OPAY and had been a customer of the company, urged Nigerians to verify information before sharing it on social media
She said, “My advice to the whole 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.”
Expressing remorse over the incident, Hafsat said, “I regret my actions and any trouble that I have caused them I’m very sorry.”