Nearly two years after Nigerian fintech startup Thepeer quietly shut down in May 2024, one of its co-founders has broken a prolonged public silence to directly rebut fraud claims levelled by fellow co-founder Sultan Bolaji Akintunde (known as Hack Sultan) in late 2025.
In a detailed statement, the rebuttal, attributed to CTO Michael “Trojan” Okoh and supported by CEO Kosisochukwu “Chike” Ononye, categorically denies allegations of misappropriation, missing funds, and a rushed closure to evade scrutiny.
The response addresses the controversy head-on, framing it as a case of unresolved co-founder tensions, poor governance, and speculation fueled by communication breakdowns.
Thepeer, launched in 2021, aimed to enable seamless wallet-to-wallet transfers across African fintech platforms, bypassing traditional banking rails. It raised pre-seed funding from angels and announced a $2.1 million seed round in 2022 from investors including Raba Partnership and others.
Despite early traction, reaching millions in monthly transaction volume at peaks, the company struggled with compliance hurdles, slow wallet adoption, and product-market fit issues.
It returned approximately $357,000 in unspent capital to investors upon closure.
The dispute reignited dramatically in October/November 2025 when Akintunde publicly alleged that roughly $1.2 million (later refined to ~$700,000 unexplained after partial explanations) went unaccounted for. He claimed $50,000 in seed funds was spent on cars for a company generating under $1,000 in annual revenue, that the shutdown was a cover-up after he requested an audit in March 2024, and that the other founders relocated to the UK without proper handover, damaging partnerships.
The recent rebuttal directly counters these points, stating, “The disputed $750,000 was never received or invested; it stemmed from one seed investor who committed but withdrew amid prolonged priced-round negotiations, rising legal costs, and a deteriorating market for B2C payment apps in Nigeria. The founders walked away from the incomplete deal.
No funds were used for cars or fraudulently pocketed.
“The relocation occurred with explicit investor approval, including signed support letters.
No regulatory agency contacted them over any misgivings.Full transparency was provided post-mediation, as Akintunde received logins to all accounts in November 2025 and complete bank statements/financial records by mid-December. Every dollar is accounted for.”
The founders acknowledge mistakes that exacerbated the fallout, particularly in handling Akintunde’s departure from active operations around a year into the company. Citing his divided focus (including on TalentQL/AltSchool Africa), they asked him to step aside, which he agreed to, but without formal vesting or continued shareholder updates.
“We treated Sultan as a friend we could reason with, not as a shareholder entitled to information,” the statement admits, noting this bred speculation and turned personal, possibly tied to an unrelated January 2024 incident.
They describe 2024 media coverage (including investor petitions for audits) as artificial and allegedly instigated by Akintunde, with some signatories later distancing themselves as viewing it as malicious.
No investors have publicly demanded further action or raised alarms, which the rebuttal says would be expected if funds were truly missing.
The statement calls for retraction of the demonstrably false allegations and signals no further public engagement.
This episode highlights persistent challenges in Africa’s startup scene: informal structures blending friendship and business, equity/vesting gaps, and the risks of delayed disputes turning public.
While Akintunde’s claims drew attention in 2025 “startup implosions” roundups, the rebuttal provides the other side’s evidence-focused defense.
No formal legal proceedings or agency investigations appear to have materialized from the allegations.
Thepeer remains a cautionary tale of a promising infrastructure play that arrived ahead of its market, compounded by internal fractures that outlasted the company itself.
