Beneath the glossy veneer of rapid growth and digital convenience, OPay, once assumed as a beacon of Nigeria’s fintech revolution, is imploding. Investigations, corroborated by court documents, regulatory actions, extensive customer testimonials, and financial security analysts, reveals a platform riddled with systemic failures, leaving millions vulnerable to allegations of fraud, entangled in Kafkaesque customer service nightmares, and hemorrhaging trust.
The alarming series of high-profile incidents in 2024 and 2025 are not isolated; they are symptoms of profound operational and compliance rot demanding urgent regulatory intervention to prevent catastrophic financial losses for customers.
Allegations of fraud have surfaced, casting a shadow over the leadership of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Gotring Wuritka Dauda and the board of directors. Recent events, including a court case involving Mr. Dauda and issues of accounts being restricted, have fueled doubts regarding the CEO’s competence and the overall governance of the financial institution.
Recent reviews from customers have intensified calls for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to take decisive action against Opay’s Managing Director, Dauda. Numerous users have reported experiencing fraudulent transactions and unauthorized deductions from their accounts, leading to significant financial losses. These complaints have raised alarms about the integrity of Opay’s operations and its ability to protect customer funds. Many customers have expressed their dissatisfaction on social media platforms, describing their frustrations with unresponsive customer service and an apparent lack of accountability from the management.
The rising number of fraud cases associated with Opay has prompted concerns from both consumers and industry analysts, who argue that the CBN must intervene to restore confidence in the digital banking sector. Critics assert that Dauda’s leadership has failed to implement adequate security measures and address customer grievances effectively.
The Fraud Epidemic: A Platform Exploited & Customer Funds Vanishing
Security analysts pinpoint OPay’s breakneck scaling as a critical vulnerability. “Their user acquisition was phenomenal, but security protocols and fraud monitoring seemingly failed to keep pace,” states Kemi Adebayo, a Lagos-based fintech security consultant.
“The platform became low-hanging fruit for sophisticated fraud rings.” This vulnerability manifests in terrifying ways for customers: funds simply disappearing.
Countless users report waking to drained accounts. Bola Adekunle, an Ibadan business owner, shared a common ordeal: “₦780,000 vanished overnight. OPay’s response? Endless generic emails and unfulfilled promises. Weeks later, they closed my complaint unresolved.
My money is gone.” This narrative echoes across online forums (Nairaland, Twitter/X) and consumer rights groups (FCCPC complaint logs).
The ease of opening accounts with synthetic IDs or compromised documents, coupled with alleged weaknesses in transaction monitoring, creates a perfect storm where Nigerians’ hard-earned savings evaporate without recourse, directly violating the CBN’s mandate for banks to safeguard customer deposits (Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act – BOFIA, Section 2(1)(b)) and provide effective dispute resolution mechanisms.
Money Laundering & Terrorism Finance: The Shadow Over OPay
Beyond suspected individual fraud, OPay faces serious allegations of systemic failures enabling larger financial crimes:
1. Terrorism Financing Designation: In 2024, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) placed OPay on a watchlist, flagging its platform as being used to funnel funds to terrorist organizations.
While OPay publicly denied direct involvement, the designation highlighted critical vulnerabilities in its transaction monitoring systems, failing Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations mandated by the CBN and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
Reports indicated specific concerns about rapid, unstructured transactions flowing through agent networks with insufficient oversight.
2. The ₦95 Million Fraud & Contempt Charge: The case against Managing Director, Wuritka Dauda isn’t just about an allegations of fraud; it points to potential governance and compliance collapse. Court documents revealed alleged complicity or negligence in a scheme where funds were illicitly moved, triggering contempt proceedings for failing to comply with court orders to reverse transactions or provide information – a blatant disregard for legal processes underpinning financial regulation.
3. CBN Fine for KYC/AML Failures: Adding weight, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in late 2024 imposed a ₦10 million fine on OPay specifically for deficiencies in its Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) processes.
The CBN cited failures to properly verify customer identities and monitor transactions effectively – core pillars of AML/CFT frameworks designed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
Customer Service: A Labyrinth of Neglect & Frozen Fortunes
The case of Muhammed Jamiu Abass is emblematic. He sued OPay to unfreeze a legitimate ₦3 million mosque donation after the platform repeatedly rejected valid documentation. His victory, including ₦500,000 damages awarded by the Osun State High Court for rights violations, exposed OPay’s customer support as an obstructive force.
• Frozen Funds, Frozen Lives: Countless customers report accounts frozen indefinitely without explanation or due process, mirroring Abass’s ordeal.
The burden of proof is placed entirely on the customer, often demanding impossible documentation. Calls to customer service lead to eternal holds, disconnections, or powerless agents. This violates CBN Consumer Protection Regulations (2019), specifically Sections 3.1 (Fair Treatment), 3.2 (Transparency), and 5.1 (Efficient Complaint
• Unauthorized Deductions & Legal Warfare: Businessman Suleiman Mohammed Dikwa’s lawsuit over an alleged unauthorized ₦28,592.92 deduction linked to an uncommunicated court order shows customers forced into costly legal battles for basic redress. OPay’s failure to appear in court in the Abass case, despite service, underscores its disregard for legal and regulatory obligations.
• The Precedent of Damages: The Osun court award is a landmark. It confirms that OPay’s actions aren’t just frustrating; they can be unlawful infringements on property rights and due process, principles enshrined in Nigerian law and banking regulations.
Operational Inadequacies: The Rot at the Core
The contempt charges and regulatory fines point beyond individual lapses to systemic failure:
1. Chronic KYC/AML Failures: Despite regulations, the platform remains vulnerable. The terrorism financing watchlist and CBN fine prove persistent weaknesses in identity verification and transaction monitoring, failing BOFIA (Sections 3, 20, 44) and CBN AML/CFT Regulations.
2. Dispute Resolution Collapse: OPay’s internal mechanisms are demonstrably broken. The reliance on ineffective customer service contravenes CBN mandates for timely and fair complaint resolution (Consumer Protection Framework).
3. Regulatory Arbitrage Backfiring: Analysts suspect OPay prioritized breakneck growth over robust compliance, exploiting perceived grey areas in fintech regulation.
This strategy is now collapsing under the weight of fraud and regulatory scrutiny.
4. Technology Without Humanity : Over-reliance on flawed automation for fraud detection and account freezing, without adequate human oversight or empathy, creates a rigid, error-prone system hostile to legitimate users.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and NFIU face a crisis of confidence. “The OPay saga is a five-alarm fire,” stated a senior regulator anonymously. “We must urgently reassess neo-bank oversight. Customer protection must be paramount.
Stricter capital requirements, mandatory independent audits of fraud controls, enforced standards for resolution timelines, and real consequences for failures are non-negotiable.”
Digital rights groups demand action. “OPay’s systemic failure to protect funds and rights is causing tangible harm,” declared Chidi Nwafor of Digital Rights Initiative Nigeria.
“Regulators must intervene decisively before more Nigerians face financial ruin due to corporate negligence and regulatory lapses.”
An Existential Threat Requiring Regulatory Rescue
OPay stands accused by courts, regulators, and its own customers. The rampant fraud, the brazen disregard for customer rights evidenced in multiple legal defeats, the CBN fine, the NFIU terrorism financing flag, and the complete collapse of its dispute resolution mechanisms are not just reputational issues, they are existential threats to the financial well-being of millions of Nigerians.
Without immediate, transparent, and drastic action from OPay and, crucially, without forceful intervention by the CBN and other regulators, this once-shining star risks collapsing entirely.
Regulators must wield the full force of banking laws BOFIA, AML/CFT regulations, the Terrorism Act, and Consumer Protection Frameworks to compel OPay to fix its systems, safeguard deposits, implement effective KYC/AML, and establish fair customer redress.
Failure to act decisively is an abdication of the CBN’s core mandate to ensuring the safety and soundness of Nigeria’s financial system and protecting its citizens from catastrophic loss.
