Update: Investigators Find Former Wejapa CEO, Favour Ori Guilty of High-handedness

Former Wejapa CEO, Favour Ori has been found guilty of extortion and high-handedness according to reports of the independent investigator hired by the company.

The investigator, after examining the several allegations levelled against the ex-Wejapa boss by developers on Twitter, found him guilty of 4 counts ranging from underpayment, extortion and possible breach of contract while working on a project at WeJapa.

It also found 2 claims that occurred outside of Favour’s role as CEO of WeJapa.

Suggested read: Investors Hire Investigators to Examine Accusations Against Wejapa CEO, Favour Ori

Quick Recap…

Over a month ago, Technext reported that Favor Ori came under fire on Twitter after some developers accused him of underpaying them and in some instances, outright extortion.

Following the allegations, Favour apologised to all those he has wronged and announced that will take responsibility for his actions. However, he also mentioned that he was innocent of the fraud allegations.

Weeks later, he stepped down from his role as CEO and investors hired an independent investigator, Calmhill Partners to look into the allegations.

Investigation report

The investigation report couldn’t establish a case of extortion against the former CEO. On the matters of delay in payment and underpayment, the investigation blamed WeJapa’s lack of concrete agreement and unclear pricing models.

On the matter of exchange rate, the investigation couldn’t pin a case on the CEO. It even more or less declared him innocent, claiming that Silas, the primary accuser admitted in his second interview that he was wrong about the exchange rates.

On the matter of review of percentage, even after establishing that Favour Ori unilaterally applied the new percentage (18%) to Silas’ contract, the investigation failed to find him guilty, leaving the matter for the WeJapa board to handle.

While the investigation report didn’t find Favour Ori guilty of extortion or other financial impropriety, it, however, found him guilty of high-handedness. It insisted the situation would have been better managed if the former CEO had been more cautious.

We find that Favour was high-handed in his dealings with some of the talents interviewed. The tone of his messages were sometimes abrasive. We are of the view that most of the issues would have been better managed if there had been proper communication between Favour and the talents.

WeJapa Independent Investigation Report

Aftermath…

Following the result of the investigation, Wejapa apologised to developers for the lapse and failure to provide a fair working environment for its developers.

The company revealed that Of 4 valid claims found by the investigators, 2 claims have been settled. It added that it has started working actively towards resolving the last two outstanding claims since receiving the report.

For the 2 claims found against Favour, outside his role as CEO, the company explained that 1 claim has been resolved. And added that Favour is working to resolve the other.

Suggested read: Favour Ori Steps Down as WeJapa CEO Following Allegations on Twitter

Favour Demoted

As part of actions to rectify the situation, the company has announced that Favour will step down as CEO and assume the role of CTO. And Hauwa Aguillard, Co-founder and acting CEO, will take on the role of CEO and handle all interactions with developers and clients.

It also revealed that it will be working with a law firm to improve our internal processes for contracting and payment to meet industry standards.

In conclusion, the results of the investigation against the Ex-Wejapa boss might not be what some people want to see but it isn’t exactly bad news for developers and several stakeholders in the Nigerian tech space.

The situation shows that justice can prevail for those being exploited and a warning to CEO that believe they are untouchable.

For Wejapa as a company full winning back trust of developers will take some time but they have a huge chance of bouncing back due to the way the situation was handled. This starts with how it implements the recommendations in the report.