- SiBAN explelled president Obinna Iwunno and executives, Emeka Ezike, Rabiu Jibia, Dania Narudeen, and Mela Claude Ake.
- Iwunno and the expelled executives were suspended in May due to accusations of financial mismanagement
- Iwuno has denied all the allegations, claiming they are a display of crypto godfatherism
Stakeholders in the Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN), an organisation that claims to be on a mission to promote blockchain education and adoption in Nigeria, have been rocked by intense infighting, which has led to the expulsion of its president, Obinna Iwunno.
SiBAN also explelled their executives: Emeka Ezike, Rabiu Jibia, Dania Narudeen, and Mela Claude Ake.
Apart from being an advocacy organisation, SiBAN was recently appointed to spearhead the implementation of Nigeria’s first blockchain policy.
The association’s board of trustees said Iwunno and the expelled executives named themselves “The Registered Trustees of SiBAN” in a recent company filing, which they described as fraudulent because they were suspended in May due to accusations of financial mismanagement.
“Mr. Obinna Iwuno has misused his position by making the unauthorized decision to register the organization without consulting any of the relevant governing bodies or stakeholders,” the board wrote on its website. “Mr Obinna Iwuno, while under suspension as president, has appointed himself as the Chairman of his own Board of Trustees, and Mr. Emeka Ezike, the suspended VP (Media & Publicity) designated as the Secretary of the Board of Trustees. Other SiBAN-registered members named as members of the Board of Trustees of this unauthorized association include Rabiu Abdulhameed Jibia (suspended Acting Vice President, Memberships) Dania Oluwaseun Narudeen (aka Seun Dania), and Mela Claude Ake.
“The date of this registration is 17 August, 2024, apparently after Mr. Iwuno and the Executive Council had been suspended and a Panel of Inquiry was still sitting. This disregard for our dear association, its founders, its past and present leaders, and its members gravely and flagrantly undermines the principles on which SiBAN is founded since 2018. Apparently, the illegal and unauthorized action of Mr Obinna Iwuno and his accomplices was carried out in bad faith.”
Ophie Rume, the former executive secretary of SiBAN, claimed in a petition that Iwunno attempted to remove SiBAN from the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BiCCON).
“BiCCON was a younger organisation but they had strong connections in the crypto community in the North which SiBAN lacked, it made no sense to withdraw,” TechCabal quoted Chris Ani, who is a member of the board.
Nevertheless, Iwunno requested to leave SiBAN without following the proper internal procedures, according to the petition filed by Rume. “And rightfully, BiCCON rejected the application as it didn’t carry the requisite signatures from other executives,” Ani said.
Additionally, Rume accused him of transferring corporate funds into his accounts in order to pay for expenses—a task that belongs in the finance and treasury departments, claiming that it allowed him to mismanage the money.
Toritseju Kaka, a founding member of SiBAN who rejoined the organization after a two-year absence, declared that the CAC registration “was an act of treason." Kaka headed the caretaker committee that guided the organization while it looked into the allegations made against Iwuno.
“We had been asking him to register the association for a long time but he only found time to do it in the middle of an investigation against him,” Ani said.
Iwuno has denied all the allegations, claiming they are all unfounded.
“The whole thing is a display of crypto godfatherism by illegal members of SiBAN,” Iwuno said. “They want to remove me and install a puppet president.”
He asserts that the efforts to impeach him date back to 2023 and that the board of trustees was a self-appointed body.
“They said they were the fathers of the industry and started asking me to report to them, something that no other president before me had done.”
US state blocks Nigerian’s crypto scam, fines him $50,000
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that The United States state of Kansas has blocked an attempt by a Nigerian cryptocurrency scammer, Bimbo Toyin Akinyemi, to defraud one of its residents of their cryptocurrency assets.
According to the state’s statement, “State of Kansas, U.S., Thwarts Attempt by Nigerian Crypto Scammer to Defraud Resident, Attracting Over $50,000 in Civil Penalties,” Akinyemi promised the unsuspecting victim a substantial return on cryptocurrency investment.
