Customer has sued Opay over alleged illegal account freeze and claimed action led to father’s death.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that a customer of Opay Digital Service Limited, a leading Nigerian fintech and mobile money operator, has filed a suit against the company at the Federal High Court in Lagos over the alleged unlawful freezing of his account, an action he claims contributed to the death of his father.
The applicant, Moses King, instituted the suit under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, pursuant to Section 46(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The case is marked FHC/L/CS/178/2026.
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Filed through his counsel, Barrister Olalekan Ogunbunmi, the suit challenges Opay Digital Service Limited’s decision to place a restriction on King’s account without what he described as lawful authority.
According to court documents, King’s Opay account (Account No: 8087652738) was placed on Post No Debit (PND) from September 17 to December 9, 2025, allegedly without any court order or directive from a law enforcement agency.
King contended that the restriction denied him access to ₦500,000 he intended to use to settle his father’s hospital bills. His father, who had been hospitalised since September 10, 2025, reportedly passed away on December 15, 2025.
In the originating application, King is asking the court to declare that the freezing of his account was illegal, unconstitutional and a violation of his fundamental rights. He specifically alleged breaches of Sections 34, 36, 43 and 44 of the Constitution, arguing that the action amounted to inhuman treatment and unlawful deprivation of property.
The applicant is also seeking ₦50 million in exemplary damages, alongside an order directing Opay to issue a public apology to be published in two national newspapers.
To support his claims, King filed a 23-paragraph affidavit in which he stated that he is a trader who has used his Opay account for lawful transactions over a long period without any prior issues. He alleged that upon contacting Opay’s customer service, he was informed that the account had been frozen but was not provided with any court order authorising the action.
He further claimed that Opay later attributed the restriction to an internal bank report, insisting that he had never engaged in fraud or any illegal financial activity. According to him, the account freeze subjected him to severe hardship and forced him to rely on neighbours for basic sustenance.
As of the time of filing this report, Opay Digital Service Limited had not filed any response to the suit, despite being duly served.
Meanwhile, Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court has fixed March 2 for the hearing of the matter.
