Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offenses Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has postponed the trial of Ismaila Mustapha, popularly known as Mompha, to July 1, 2024.
This development occurred during Monday’s proceedings, where the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented its fifth witness, Ezekoli Ozoemenam, a Fidelity Bank Plc staff member.
The EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Command initially arraigned Mompha and his company, Ismalob Global Investment Limited, on January 12, 2022.
They face an eight-count charge that includes conspiracy to launder funds acquired through illegal activities, retention of proceeds from criminal conduct, laundering of illegally obtained funds, failure to disclose assets and property, possession of documents with false pretenses, and using property derived from unlawful activities.
One of the charges alleges that in 2016, Mompha, along with Ahmadu Mohammed (currently at large) and Ismalob Global Investment Limited, conspired to conduct financial transactions totaling N5,998,884,653.18 (Five Billion Nine Hundred and Ninety-eight Million, Eight Hundred and Eighty-four Thousand, Six Hundred and Fifty-three Naira Eighteen Kobo).
This transaction was purportedly intended to promote specific unlawful activities, particularly obtaining money under false pretenses. Mompha pleaded “not guilty” to these charges.
On September 22, 2022, Justice Dada ruled that the trial would proceed in Mompha’s absence after he jumped bail.
During the latest court session, Ozoemenam, a compliance officer at Fidelity Bank, testified under the guidance of prosecuting counsel S.I. Suleiman. He revealed that the bank had responded to EFCC’s request for the defendant’s account opening documents as part of their investigation.
Ozoemenam confirmed the authenticity of the documents presented, stating, “This is the same document which we provided to the EFCC and it was printed from a perfectly working computer system.”
The prosecution sought to have these documents admitted as evidence. However, the defense counsel, Kolawole Salami, indicated he would reserve his objection to this request.
During cross-examination, Ozoemenam clarified that the account in question was opened in 2016, and at that time, he was involved in internal control operations, frequently moving between branches. He also noted that any anomalies in bank accounts are reported to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
The trial’s continuation is now scheduled for July 1, 2024, marking another step in the lengthy judicial process surrounding Mompha and his alleged financial crimes.
