Tony, Tola Trade Allegations as Dispute Over Car and Longstanding Friendship Escalates Online

A public dispute between Nigerian Web3 figures Tola Joseph Fadugbagbe and Tony Nwabishop has escalated across X, with both men offering different accounts of a disagreement involving a vehicle, their relationship and separate allegations concerning money.

The dispute, which appears to have its roots several months ago, moved into the public domain after Tola hosted an X Space outlining his account of what happened. Tony subsequently hosted his own Space on Tuesday, August 25, responding to allegations circulating about him while repeatedly saying that he did not intend to publicly discuss the underlying dispute with Tola in detail.

The two men have described their relationship as a longstanding friendship, with participants in Tony’s Space referring to it as a relationship spanning about 10 years.

Neither side’s full account has been independently verified.

Tola’s allegations

Tola’s public posts allege that his vehicle was taken from Lagos without his authorisation and later intercepted by Nigerian police in Edo State while allegedly travelling toward Asaba.

In posts published on X, Tola said the person involved had left his Lagos residence a day before the alleged incident and accused the individual of attempting to take the vehicle. He also questioned why he had previously been asked to provide the original vehicle documents. 

Tola’s posts also refer to a car dealer and suggest that the movement of the vehicle was part of a broader plan that, in his account, was disrupted by the police.

The allegations have not been independently confirmed by CoinAfrica.

Tony denies stealing or masterminding the vehicle’s removal

Tony addressed the car allegations when a participant in his X Space asked him directly to clarify whether he had stolen Tola’s vehicle.

Tony responded that he did not steal the car, while saying that further details would be handled by what he described as the “appropriate people.” He also said the dispute was deeper than the vehicle itself and that the car was only part of a larger matter.

Tony subsequently rejected a further characterization that he had masterminded the vehicle’s removal.

He distinguished between being accused of personally taking the car and being accused of orchestrating its removal, saying the allegation had evolved from one to the other.

He also acknowledged that a car dealer was involved in the circumstances surrounding the vehicle.

Tony said the dealer was the person who actually took the car, but repeatedly declined to give the full account publicly. He said the dealer had been expected to participate in the Space but was not brought on because of the potential consequences of discussing the matter publicly.

A dispute over how the car was moved

One participant in Tony’s Space, who said he had spoken with Tony about the matter months earlier and had also spoken with Tola, offered an account of the circumstances surrounding the vehicle.

According to the participant, Tony had previously told him that a car was being sold in Lagos and that a prospective buyer or dealer was involved. He said he understood that the vehicle was subsequently taken toward Delta State without Tola apparently expecting that journey.

The participant described the decision to move the vehicle from Lagos to Delta without the owner’s apparent knowledge as the central problem, regardless of the parties’ friendship.

Tony responded that parts of that account were accurate while other parts were not, but declined to provide his complete version because he said doing so would take the discussion deeper into the dispute he had decided not to address publicly.

Tony also said the original vehicle documents had been with him and that Tola eventually received both the car and the documents.

These accounts leave several details unresolved, including the exact instructions given to the car dealer, the authority under which the vehicle was moved and Tony’s precise role in the transaction.

Tony says the dispute goes beyond the car

Throughout the Space, Tony maintained that the vehicle was only one part of a larger disagreement.

When asked why he would not simply explain what happened, he said the dispute was “more than car” and described the vehicle as a smaller part of a deeper matter.

He said the underlying dispute had occurred approximately three months earlier and that he deliberately chose not to respond publicly at the time.

Tony said he instead withdrew from the relationship after what he described as a personal boundary being crossed. In particular, he said Tola had called him a “thief” in the presence of his mother, which he described as a red line.

Tony said he had subsequently distanced himself from Tola while continuing to hear what he described as negative claims about him.

He also referred to previous instances dating back to 2023 and said he had retained voice notes from people who, according to him, had previously discussed similar disputes involving Tola.

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Tony alleges a pattern of public reputational disputes

A significant part of Tony’s response focused not on the car but on what he characterised as a recurring pattern of public allegations.

Tony said he was not the first person to experience such a dispute and claimed that similar situations had previously involved individuals and crypto projects.

He played a voice note during the Space that he said related to a 2024 dispute involving another person. Tony described it as one of several pieces of material he had collected and said he did not want to respond to the current dispute using what he considered the same public format.

He repeatedly argued that responding to Tola through another X Space would simply produce another cycle of competing claims.

“You hold in one space. It’s true, it’s not true. No, me, I don’t pass that level.”

Tony said he preferred to provide evidence to people handling the dispute and allow Tola to present his own evidence through the same process.

Those claims about previous disputes are Tony’s characterization and have not been independently established by CoinAfrica.

Separate allegations over money

The public dispute has also drawn in separate allegations concerning money.

During Tony’s Space, participants raised claims that he had allegedly failed to pay some former workers. When asked directly whether there were outstanding wages, Tony acknowledged that there were unpaid amounts.

He attributed the situation to a downturn in the crypto market and the withdrawal of companies that his business serviced following tensions between Binance and the Nigerian government. Tony said his company had subsequently streamlined its workforce and that outstanding wages would be paid as business conditions improved.

Tony distinguished those unpaid wages from allegations that he had scammed people.

He repeatedly challenged people who had accused him of fraud, including a person he said had alleged that he was involved in a $25,000 scam, to come forward and present evidence. Tony said he knew of two people in the Web3 space to whom he owed money and denied that owing money was equivalent to deliberately scamming someone.

CoinAfrica has not independently verified those financial allegations.

Tola disputes Tony’s account

Tola Joseph, speaking during an X Space on Tuesday, disputed several of Tony’s claims and accused him of misrepresenting his role in supporting Tola and his family.

Tola specifically rejected Tony’s claim that he had been financially supporting him and his family, saying he does not have a wife or children and questioning the basis for the claim.

He also strongly disputed Tony’s account concerning his father’s medical expenses. Tola said his father had recently been discharged from hospital and accused Tony of falsely telling others that he had paid his medical bills. Tola said the only person he had specifically informed about his father’s health was another individual he identified during the Space.

Tola further alleged that Tony had represented himself to a person involved in the disputed car transaction and suggested that he was attempting to recover money connected to the deal. He said he intended to publish screenshots and an audio recording relating to the interaction.

Tola also rejected the possibility of reconciling the friendship, arguing that the dispute had gone beyond an ordinary disagreement. He accused Tony of being manipulative and said he no longer considered a resolution or restoration of their friendship possible.

These claims remain allegations made by Tola during the Space and have not been independently verified by CoinAfrica. Tony’s account, as presented in his own X Space, differs on several of these points.

Longstanding friendship now at the centre of the dispute

Beyond the vehicle and financial claims, the dispute appears to have damaged a longstanding personal relationship.

Tony described Tola as someone with whom he had travelled, stayed with and shared significant personal experiences. He said they had been friends for years and that his decision to distance himself was driven by what he considered repeated breaches of trust.

Several participants in Tony’s Space urged both men to resolve the disagreement privately.

One participant repeatedly described the relationship as a 10-year friendship and argued that the history between the two men made a public confrontation particularly damaging. Another urged Tony to allow Tola into the Space so that both could present their accounts directly rather than having other people speak on their behalf.

Tony declined to directly engage Tola during the Space, saying other people had taken responsibility for handling that aspect of the dispute and that he had been instructed not to discuss it publicly.

What remains unclear

The public accounts currently leave several questions unanswered.

It remains unclear from the material reviewed by CoinAfrica:

• who specifically authorised the vehicle to leave Lagos;
• the precise instructions given to the car dealer;
• why the vehicle was taken toward Delta State;
• what role Tony played in the decision to move it;
• what occurred when police intercepted the vehicle;
• what documentation was presented to establish ownership;
• and what the deeper disagreement between the two longtime friends involves.

Tony has said that these matters will be addressed through other channels and that evidence will be presented at the appropriate time.

Tola, meanwhile, has continued to publicly maintain his allegations on X.

For now, the dispute remains a matter of competing public accounts, with neither side’s complete version independently established.

Editorial note

CoinAfrica has not independently verified the allegations made by either party. The claims presented in this report are attributed to the individuals who made them, while matters that remain disputed or unresolved are identified as such.

Stay tuned to CoinAfrica for more on the Tony-Tola dispute