By Joe Udo
ABEOKUTA (CONVERSEER) – Fintech and online banking company, Palmpay Limited, has reportedly arrested a student of Ogun State Institute of Technology (OGITECH), Igbesa, for defaulting on his loan refund.
According to a viral video shared by a popular blogger, Instablog9ja, on X, on Friday, 13 February 2026, the arrest was made on campus.
Two Palmpay staff held the students on his clothes while leading him to their vehicle, as other students watched in dismay.
The video caption read: “The moment staff of a loan app company visited the Institute of Technology, Ogun State to apprehend a young man for defaulting on his loan refund.”
At the time of filing this report, the name of the student could not be ascertained, nor the amount he was owing the bank.
Nigerians on social media have reacted to the development, asking if it is legal for Palmpay to initiate an arrest on loan defaulters.
“@fccpcnigeria come and see how @palmpay_ng staff are harassing loan defaulters. Is this how it’s done? Is this allowed? @cenbank is this allowed? @PoliceNG see o!” @ademolaadebusoye asked?
Replying to @ademolaadebusoye, @IamS03 said: “Speak on what you know, even in the UK, if you default, bailiff comes for you and forcefully takes away your valuable items: some will even beat the f!ck out of you if you try to f!ck with them. Stop taking loans you can’t pay or when you have no job, they ain’t a charity organisation.”
@faith_chiazor said: “Those students laughing…please what is funny? Palmpay has become a police in itself, harassing loan defaulters because Nigeria has no enforcement policy for loan systems. Also, Nigerians have a bad habit of not repaying loans, bad economy aside.”
PalmPay is a Chinese-owned company, majorly controlled by China’s Transsion Holdings (maker of Tecno, Infinix, and Itel phones) and NetEase, with its headquarters in China, though it operates heavily in African markets like Nigeria and Ghana. Its strategic backing from Transsion, which pre-installs the app on popular African smartphones, gives it significant market access.
The company has yet to issue a statement on the development.
You can watch the video below:
The moment staff of a loan app company visited Institute of Technology, Ogun State to apprehend a young man for defaulting on his loan refund. pic.twitter.com/ojF32fHT5S
— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) February 13, 2026
