A customer of Opay Digital Service Limited, one of Nigeria’s leading fintech mobile money operators, has dragged the company before 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, marked FHC/L/CS/178/2026, was filed by his lawyer, Barrister Olalekan Ogunbunmi, against Opay Digital Service Limited.
King is asking the court to declare that the freezing of his Opay account, without a court order or lawful justification, was illegal, unconstitutional and a violation of his fundamental rights.
According to court documents, the applicant’s account — Account No: 8087652738 — was placed on Post No Debit (PND) from September 17, 2025, to December 9, 2025, allegedly without any authorisation from a court or law enforcement agency.
King claimed that the restriction prevented him from accessing ₦500,000, which he intended to use to pay for his father’s hospital bills. His father, who had been hospitalised since September 10, 2025, reportedly died on December 15, 2025.
In the reliefs sought, the applicant is asking the court to declare that Opay’s actions violated his rights under Sections 34, 36, 43 and 44 of the Nigerian Constitution. He further alleged that the restriction amounted to inhuman treatment and deprivation of property.
King is also demanding ₦50 million in exemplary damages, as well as a public apology from Opay to be published in two national newspapers.
To support his claims, the applicant filed a 23-paragraph affidavit, stating that he is a trader who had used his Opay account for legitimate transactions for a long period without incident.
He averred that upon discovering the restriction, Opay’s customer service informed him that his account had been frozen but failed to provide any court order backing the action. He further claimed that Opay later stated the restriction was based on an internal bank report.
The applicant insisted that he has never engaged in fraud or any illegal financial activity and said the account freeze left him in severe hardship, forcing him to depend on neighbours for food.
Opay Digital Service Limited is yet to file a 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 case.
