The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of four men accused of allegedly defrauding Opay Digital Services Limited of more than N150 million.

The order followed the failure of the defendants and their lawyer to appear in court for the scheduled hearing of the case.

Justice Salim Ibrahim issued the warrant after prosecution counsel John Ijagbemi made an oral application under Section 394 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.

The judge directed the Inspector-General of Police to produce the four defendants before the court at the next hearing.

Four defendants named in charge

The defendants are: Isah Ladan, Nasiru Umar, Umar Mohammed, Abubakar Ibrahim

They are facing a four-count charge filed by the police at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The case is registered as FHC/ABJ/CR/398/2026.

According to the prosecution, the charge was filed on July 8, 2026, through the Directorate of Legal Services of the Nigeria Police Force.

Defendants accused of identity theft

The prosecution alleges that the defendants and others still at large committed the offences in Bida, Niger State, between November and December 2025.

One of the allegations concerns identity theft and impersonation.

The prosecution claims that the defendants allegedly obtained and used the National Identification Cards and SIM cards of unsuspecting individuals while falsely presenting themselves as agents of Opay Digital Services Limited.

The alleged activities resulted in a claimed loss of N150,538,000 to the fintech company.

The prosecution said the alleged identity-related offence is punishable under the relevant provisions of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act.

Computer-related fraud allegation

Another count accuses the defendants of computer-related fraud.

According to the prosecution, the suspects allegedly entered the personal information of innocent individuals into Opay’s computer systems without authorisation, allegedly with the intention of obtaining financial benefits.

The prosecution cited provisions of the Cybercrimes Act in support of the charge.

The allegations have not been established by the court, and the defendants remain entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proved guilty.

Why the court ordered their arrest

When the matter was called on Friday, neither the defendants nor their lawyer, U.M. Umar, was present.

Prosecuting counsel Ijagbemi told the court that the defendants had also failed to appear when the case was previously scheduled on Wednesday.

He said the defence had asked the court to stand the matter down after reporting that the defendants’ vehicle had developed problems while they were travelling from Niger State.

The matter was subsequently adjourned to Friday.

However, according to the prosecution, neither the defendants nor their counsel appeared at the rescheduled hearing, and no explanation was provided for their absence.

Judge recalls warning to defence lawyer

Justice Ibrahim said he had previously advised the defence lawyer to arrange accommodation in Abuja because the defendants were travelling from Niger State.

The judge recalled that Umar had responded that the journey from Niger State to Abuja took approximately one hour.

Justice Ibrahim questioned why the defendants were nevertheless absent from court without an explanation.

Following the prosecution’s application, the judge granted the request and ordered the defendants’ arrest.

Police directed to produce defendants

The court specifically directed the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that the four men are brought before the court on the next adjourned date.

The judge also directed the court’s Chief Registrar to communicate with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other relevant legal bodies concerning the conduct of the defendants’ lawyer.

The case will now return to court for further proceedings.