Mogaji Wole Arisekola, a veteran journalist, has accused Paystack and Qatar Airways of withholding ₦5.42 million he paid for a Business Class ticket to London, after the booking was allegedly cancelled without his authorisation.
Arisekola said he paid ₦5,422,574 on May 27, 2026, through a bank transfer from his Parallex Bank account into a Paystack-Titan account for a Qatar Airways journey from Lagos to London via Doha.
He said the trip was to enable him attend his daughter’s graduation ceremony in London on July 15.
According to him, the booking was made under reference 7QC34K, with ticket number 1047489.
But after making the payment, Arisekola said he neither received the ticket nor a satisfactory explanation from the parties involved despite repeated requests.
How ₦5.4m payment became a dispute
Concerned about the missing ticket, Arisekola said he complained to Parallex Bank, which subsequently contacted Paystack over the transaction.
He said Paystack confirmed on June 19 that the transaction had been successful and the money settled.
The development, he said, raised further questions because he still had no ticket despite the reported successful settlement.
On June 22, Parallex Bank reportedly reminded Paystack that its customer had not received the ticket and stated that Arisekola had neither requested nor authorised cancellation of the booking.
Arisekola said he also contacted Qatar Airways that day, asking the airline to issue the ticket.
According to him, the airline responded that the payment had allegedly been disputed with his card-issuing bank, resulting in cancellation of the booking.
Arisekola rejected the explanation, saying he did not make the payment with a card but through a bank transfer.
He also maintained that neither he nor Parallex Bank disputed the payment.
The development left him asking who allegedly represented that the payment had been disputed, who authorised the cancellation and what happened to the ₦5.42 million after Paystack had reportedly confirmed that the transaction was settled.
Replacement ticket cost over ₦3m
With his daughter’s graduation approaching and the Qatar Airways booking unresolved, Arisekola said he had to make alternative travel arrangements.
He purchased another ticket from Virgin Atlantic at short notice, which he said cost him more than ₦3 million in additional expenditure.
According to him, the continued withholding of the original ₦5.42 million also affected his ability to make alternative travel arrangements as planned.
He said the financial pressure, uncertainty and disruption caused by the incident affected his general well-being.
For Arisekola, the dispute goes beyond the cost of an airline ticket.
He said it raises broader questions about consumer protection, accountability and confidence in Nigeria’s electronic payment system.
“How can a customer transfer more than ₦5 million for a service, receive confirmation that the transaction was successful and settled, yet be denied the service and prevented from recovering his money promptly?” he asked.
Lawyers demand refund, explanations
The dispute continued until September, when Arisekola’s lawyers wrote formally to Paystack and Qatar Airways.
He said the lawyers wrote on September 10, 2026, demanding the immediate refund of the ₦5,422,574 paid on May 27.
According to Arisekola, the money was eventually refunded on September 21, about four months after the original payment and following the intervention of his lawyers.
However, he said the refund has not answered the questions surrounding the cancellation.
His lawyers are seeking details of the reason for the cancellation, the date and time it occurred, whether Qatar Airways or Paystack initiated it, and the contractual or legal basis for the decision.
Arisekola also wants an explanation of what happened to the money between the reported settlement of the transaction and the eventual refund.
He described the circumstances as raising concerns about what he called the alleged illegal diversion of his money and a possible attempt to deprive him of the funds.
However, these remain allegations by Arisekola, and Paystack and Qatar Airways should be given the opportunity to respond to the claims and provide their own account of the transaction.
Arisekola said he has instructed his lawyer to petition the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Office of the Minister of Aviation, seeking investigation and appropriate action over the matter.
He also said he is prepared to seek legal redress against any party found responsible for the cancellation, withholding of the money and consequential losses.
“I have practised journalism for more than four decades, and I believe strongly that institutions entrusted with people’s money must be held accountable,” he said.
Although the ₦5.42 million has now been refunded, Arisekola said the central issue remains unresolved: who authorised the cancellation of his ticket, and why was his money not returned promptly after the booking was cancelled?
He said Nigerians deserve clear answers, arguing that the country’s ease of doing business cannot improve if customers remain exposed to prolonged disputes over payments for services they have already purchased.
