Financial technology company, OPay, has initiated legal action against individuals and groups responsible for originating and circulating viral rumours claiming the platform planned to suspend operations in Nigeria.
The move comes amid a growing wave of misinformation targeting non-bank financial institutions and mobile payment platforms across Nigeria, where regulatory crackdowns and digital security concerns have heightened public sensitivity to rumours.
Addressing journalists and stakeholders during a press conference in Lagos on Wednesday, OPay’s Chief Legal Counsel, Akinfolabi Rokosu, stated, “OPay is taking legal action against those responsible for deliberately creating and circulating this callous information. We will pursue them, and we will ensure that the law takes its full course; there will be no impunity.”
He noted that the company has formally involved the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force to track down the perpetrators, revealing that one related case is already active in court.
“This is not about silencing anyone, but it is about accountability, customer protection, and respect for the rule of law,” Rokosu said, adding that the Central Bank of Nigeria has officially classified the viral claims as fake news.
The banking sector in Africa’s largest economy has faced heightened scrutiny in recent months as the CBN tightened anti-money laundering controls and compliance oversight across fintech startups. Rumours of account freezes or operational shutdowns have frequently caused panic among small business owners and micro-merchants who rely heavily on mobile wallets for everyday cash flow.
Corroborating the company’s position, OPay’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer, Dotun Adekunle, reassured the public that operations remain fully functional across all channels, pointing out that the viral notice falsely alleged a shutdown date of September 1.
“OPay is here, OPay is operating, and OPay is going nowhere,” Adekunle stated.
“In fact, according to the false information itself, OPay was supposed to have shut down yesterday, 1 September, but it is 2 September, and we are still here,” he added.
He urged consumers, merchants and banking partners to remain calm and disregard unverified social media broadcasts.
“A message can look official and still be completely false. A logo can be copied, and a document can be designed to look convincing, but false is false no matter how many times it is shared,” Adekunle said, reiterating that OPay’s commitments to the Nigerian financial ecosystem remain firm.
OPay, which holds a Mobile Money Operator licence from the CBN, serves over 30 million users and millions of merchants across Nigeria. Analysts note that given the scale of transactions processed through agency banking networks, false operational scares pose systemic risks to financial inclusion gains achieved over the past decade.
Also speaking, an Executive at eTranzact and Financial Secretary of the Association of Licensed Payment Operators of Nigeria, Olalekan Disu, noted that the circulation of false information about a licensed payment operator could have implications beyond the affected company.
“Trust is the foundation of digital payments,” Disu said, noting that Nigerians place their trust in the payment industry whenever they process transactions or save money digitally.
He warned that false information about a major industry player could discourage the adoption of digital payments and undermine confidence in the ecosystem.
Disu called on customers, businesses, media organisations and social media influencers to verify financial information before sharing or acting on it, while urging journalists to maintain high standards when reporting on financial institutions.
“We also want to make an important distinction. There is room to criticise and to look into financial institutions and the industry. The industry does not seek to prevent journalists, customers, or members of the public from asking difficult questions,” he said.
“But we must collectively guard against the creation and amplification of false information,” he added, reiterating the association’s commitment to working with the CBN, regulators, operators and the media to strengthen confidence, transparency and resilience in Nigeria’s digital payments ecosystem.
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