Former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad has called on OPay Digital Services Limited to reconsider the arrest of Haifa Abubakar over a social media post that falsely suggested the fintech company was ending its operations.
Ahmad made the appeal on Thursday through a post on X, where he acknowledged that Haifa’s claim was incorrect but questioned the need for her arrest after she allegedly followed OPay’s instructions.
He said Haifa had removed the controversial post and apologised after OPay reportedly asked her to do so.
The former aide said there was little dispute that the original post was wrong, adding that he did not support what Haifa had published.
However, he argued that the situation should be viewed in the context of what happened after the company responded to the post.
“If she did exactly what OPay requested,” Ahmad said, “then I believe there are legitimate questions about why her arrest was still necessary.”
He suggested that the circumstances might have been different if Haifa had ignored the company’s demand or refused to correct the information.
Ahmad also questioned whether pressure from social media users calling for Haifa’s arrest played a role in the decision.
The former presidential aide appealed to OPay management to take another look at the matter, describing Haifa as a young student who made an error and then took steps to address it.
He said his appeal was not based on the belief that spreading false information should be encouraged, but rather on the circumstances surrounding the subsequent arrest.
Ahmad maintained that once Haifa had allegedly deleted the post and issued the requested apology, OPay should consider whether further action was still necessary.
The case has generated public discussion over the appropriate response to false information posted online, particularly where the individual involved later removes the content and issues a correction.
Details of the specific allegations against Haifa, the legal basis for her arrest and any response from OPay were not included in the material provided.
