Nigerian fintech giant OPay is facing mounting scrutiny after TeamApt Limited and Moniepoint Microfinance Bank Limited jointly filed a lawsuit accusing the company of unethical recruitment practices and compromising confidential business information in what could become one of the most consequential legal battles in the country’s fast-growing digital payments sector.
Filed as Suit No. FHC/L/332/2025 at the Federal High Court in Lagos, the case lists OPay and its affiliate, SOTI Investments Limited, as defendants. The two plaintiffs allege that OPay systematically targeted and recruited key Business Relationship Managers employees with privileged access to sensitive operational data, merchant details, and internal strategy documents.
Why did Moniepoint Sue Opay?
According to court filings, the companies argue that this was not routine hiring, but a deliberate attempt to gain insider access to proprietary banking intelligence. They claim that shortly after these staff members migrated to OPay, they observed an unusual decline in usage of their POS terminals, raising suspicion that confidential information may have been transferred.
Beyond competitive concerns, TeamApt and Moniepoint warn of a broader data security threat. They argue that because OPay has foreign ownership and stores data offshore, any unauthorized transfer of internal information could carry serious national data protection implications, potentially exposing Nigerian merchants and users to foreign data vulnerabilities.
The plaintiffs are urging the court to declare that OPay violated banking ethics and breached Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulations. They are requesting several sweeping orders, including:
A ban on OPay from contacting or hiring any of their Business Relationship Managers or aggregators.
An order preventing OPay from activating POS terminals linked to former employees.
₦100 million in damages for reputational harm, operational disruptions, and loss of competitive advantage.
TeamApt and Moniepoint say they are prepared to tender internal emails, chat logs, and regulatory filings to substantiate their claims once the case proceeds to hearing.
As of this report, OPay and SOTI Investments have not issued any public comment on the allegations.
The case is already sending ripples through Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem. Analysts note that the outcome could shape future regulatory frameworks on staff poaching, data governance, and competitive conduct in an industry powering millions of daily transactions.
With the country pushing for stronger financial data protection and fair market practices, this lawsuit may become a defining moment for how fintech companies operate and compete in Africa’s largest digital economy.
