Uthman Quseem, an akara (beans chips) seller in the Muslim area of Ibadan, has narrated how Opay, a Nigerian fintech, denied him access to N90,830 saved in his account.

The graduate of international relations told FIJ that he lost access to his account after a report from Opay that proceeds of a fraudulent transaction were lodged in his account.

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Quseem said that his ordeal followed a transaction with a customer on March 23, 2022, which he believed was legitimate.

“They said I had received fraudulent funds in my account. But that was not true. I sent proof of my transaction with the person to them,” he said.

A year after, precisely on Monday April 4, 2023, the Ibadan man consented to the removal of the funds said to be from fraud so he could regain access to the money he had in the account before the restriction.

“I had no choice but to consent to the removal to safeguard my account and what I had in it before,” he said.

But that did not solve it. “It has been over four weeks now, and they have still not unfrozen my account,” Quseem told FIJ.

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He also said that he had sent several emails to the virtual banking platform to release the N90,830, which he made from his akara business, but nothing had been done. 

Qaseem said that despite providing all the proof and consenting to the removal of the alleged fraudulent funds as requested of him by the bank, his account wasn’t accessible.

“I have sent a series of emails, visited their branch and called them. All these have been futile. I can feel injustice; I feel cheated. This has so much affected me,” Qaseem told FIJ.

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When contacted, Femi Hanson, OPay communications lead, told FIJ late Friday that the bank would examine Qaseem’s complaint.

“My compliant team will investigate, and I will share feedback as soon as I can,” Hanson said.