On May 27, Amos Sewanu Popogbe, also known as Omotade-Sparks, was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Sokoto for masterminding a pyramid investment scheme, InksNation, which was used to defraud Nigerians of up to N32 million.

The commission had declared Sewanu wanted in November 2020, after several attempts to apprehend and question him over the crash of his business activities.

Through InkNation’s supposed blockchain technology and artificial intelligence scheme, the commission stated, Sewanu created a phony digital currency known as Pinkoin.

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The Badagry-born man was also alleged to have used the currency to lure unsuspecting Nigerians into investing between N100,000 and N200,000.

He also created a payment card called Pink Card for his investors. The card was supposed to reflect the worth of every InksNation investor, but in late 2020, investors realised they could not carry out any transaction with it.

According to a notice on EFCC website, Sewanu claimed he was in partnership with the commission, to attract more investors to the scheme.

REACTION FROM TWO PAST INKNATION INVESTORS

“I once worked in the capacity of an agent at InksNation. During that time, I registered most of my colleagues and a large number of my neighbours,” said a former InksNation employee who simply identified as Anastasia.

“In the end, when the whole initiative backfired in late 2020, not only did I lose my job, I also had to run away from home.”

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Another former member of InksNation, who simply identified as Ishaya, said he lost the trust of his entire extended family members after introducing them to what later turned out a mirage.

“One of my uncles even said he would never trust any word from my mouth again because of the incident,” said Ishaya.

SEWANU’S RELEASE IN JUNE

On June 10, and after spending close to two weeks in EFCC custody, Sewanu was released on bail. Following his release, he issued a statement via InkNation’s official Facebook page that he had never hidden from the commission.

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He also debunked the news of his arrest, saying he had appeared at the commission’s Sokoto office on his own. Sewanu further said he had taken time to reflect on his arrest by the EFCC, and that he was baselessly persecuted.

However, while reacting to Sewanu’s claims, Ishaya said, “I still find his comments ridiculous. If he was confident he had no skeleton in his cupboard, why wait till May to turn himself in when he was first declared wanted in November 2020?

“Secondly, we all know he resided in Lagos. Why leave Lagos, crossing several rivers and flying several miles, to go and give yourself up in Sokoto? Does that make any sense? Who is he trying to deceive?”

INKNATION 2.0

Sewanu has made it clear that his mission is to alleviate poverty in Nigeria. He also said since no specific regulation in Nigeria had declared blockchain or cryptocurrency trading illegal, nothing would stop him from carrying out his mission.

With this in mind, he birthed InksNation 2.0 after his release.

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“At the moment, we are receiving applications from people who are interested in becoming InksNation KYC agents. They are expected to apply with a sum of N11, 500. As a matter of fact, application ends on November 12,” said Frank Imeh, one of the new InksNation’s super agents.

Imeh also said InksNation would officially begin operations on January 12, 2022, when Nigerians would get to register for free.

“From January 12, the agents are expected to receive one dollar for every person they register for free. It is going to be a global registration. Anybody can register anywhere,” Imeh told FIJ.

“If you as an agent register with $20, the company will pay you a dollar for every new member you register. If you register with $200, you get $5 per registration, and if it is $2,000, you get $30 per registration.

“You can always withdraw your balance (and deposit) into the bank account tied to your profile on the platform, or in form of bitcoin, after successfully registering 144 new members.”

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Imeh also told FIJ that InksNation decided to upgrade because the initial platform was full of irregularities.

‘INKSNATION IS A SCAM‘

“My sister happens to be one of the people affected by InksNation’s dealings in 2020. I only got to know about her loss when Sewanu was declared wanted by the EFCC last year,” said John, a finance expert, who asked not to be named.

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“I would have talked her out of it if she had carried me along in the first place. How can you not be certified by the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), promise people vague lifetime bonuses and inexplicable monthly payments and not be a scam? It is not possible.”

John also said the nation’s economy is already crippled and that people should be smart enough to hold on to the little they have and not fall prey to fraudulent schemes.

FIJ made several calls to the phone numbers on InksNation’s Facebook pages, but they were unanswered. Messages sent to Sewanu’s Facebook page were also not responded to.