27-year-old John Akpan Ode, a native of Ogoja in Cross River StateThe story is about John Akpan Ode, a 27-year-old man from Cross River State, Nigeria, who moved to Lagos in search of a better life. He put himself through school at the Lagos State Polytechnic, mastering the art of fixing tiles, roofing, and forex trading. However, he invested heavily in a fake forex trading platform that crashed a few months later, leaving him and others with no returns. He was reported to the authorities by investors he had introduced to the platform, arrested, and spent months in Kirikiri prison over an alleged N6 million forex fraud that he knew nothing about. Despite maintaining his innocence, he was denied bail and had to wait for his day in court. In an interview with Encounter, John expressed his frustration at the justice system, which he felt had failed him.
