OPay shutdown hoax has triggered a police investigation following the arrest of Abubakar over the circulation of a fake notice claiming that OPay Digital Services Limited had shut down its operations.
The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) said Abubakar was arrested on September 4, 2026, after its operatives traced the disputed publication to an X account allegedly linked to her.
According to a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the NPF-NCCC launched a digital forensic investigation and online tracing operation after the false notice began circulating.
The police said the investigation was aimed at determining the source of the notice and identifying those responsible for creating and disseminating it.
The investigation allegedly traced the publication to the X handle @HAIFAH_ER_ABBA, which the police said was linked to Abubakar. She was subsequently arrested by operatives of the cybercrime centre.
Bashir Ahmad Appeals to OPay
Meanwhile, former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad has appealed to OPay Digital Services Limited to reconsider the arrest of Haifa Abubakar.
Ahmad made the appeal in a post on X on Thursday, arguing that Abubakar had acknowledged her mistake and, according to his understanding, complied with OPay’s request to delete the post and apologise.
He acknowledged that the publication was wrong but questioned why the arrest proceeded after the post was allegedly removed and an apology issued.
“We all know that what Haifa did was wrong and virtually nobody supported her actions,” Ahmad said, while raising questions about what happened after the post went viral.
According to Ahmad, OPay initially asked Abubakar to take down the post and issue an apology within a specified period.
He said his understanding was that she complied with those demands by deleting the post and apologising.
“So, why would OPay still go ahead to have her arrested, particularly if she had complied with the company’s demands?” Ahmad asked.
The development has drawn attention to the consequences of circulating false information about financial technology companies and the role of law enforcement in investigating potentially harmful online publications.
