The trial of social media celeb, Ismail Mustapha, popularly often called Mompha, has been adjourned to March 13, 2025, by Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos State Particular Offences Court docket, Ikeja.
The adjournment got here yesterday after the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) offered its sixth prosecution witness within the ongoing cash laundering trial towards Mompha.
On the resumed listening to, the EFCC was represented by Suleiman I. Suleiman, whereas Mompha’s defence workforce was led by Kolawole Salami, alongside Ademola Adefolaju.
In the course of the proceedings, the EFCC’s sixth witness, Idi Musa, tendered paperwork purportedly obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Nonetheless, the defence objected to their admissibility, arguing that because the paperwork originated from the U.S. Division of Justice by the U.S. Consulate Workplace, they had been public paperwork and had not been correctly licensed by Sections 102 and 104 of the Proof Act.
The defence additional argued that because the EFCC was not the maker of the paperwork, it lacked the authority to certify them.
Regardless of the objection, the court docket dominated in favour of the EFCC, admitting the paperwork as Displays P8, P9, and P10.
In his testimony, PW6 Idi Musa admitted that Mompha had declared possession of the wristwatches recovered from him however failed to incorporate them within the Asset Declaration Type crammed out upon his arrest.
He additionally confirmed that Mompha was initially arrested in 2019 and charged earlier than the Federal Excessive Court docket, Ikoyi, Lagos, on cash laundering-related offences, a case that is still pending.
Throughout cross-examination, the witness acknowledged that the Federal Excessive Court docket had twice ordered the discharge of Mompha’s wristwatches, but the EFCC did not comply.
The court docket admitted these orders as Displays P11 and P12.
PW6 admitted {that a} key doc in Rely 7 was obtained with out Mompha’s presence, and when the defendant was confronted with it throughout the investigation, he refused to make an announcement.
Nonetheless, when the court docket learn Exhibit P13, which contained Mompha’s assertion, the witness recanted and admitted that Mompha had denied any information of the doc.
Moreover, the witness acknowledged that the EFCC had not obtained any petition from Continental Dairy Amenities Southwest LLC concerning Mompha.
As a substitute, the company independently inquired concerning the firm’s involvement and obtained an announcement.
Nonetheless, when requested if the corporate’s assertion was earlier than the court docket, the witness failed to supply it.
Additional cross-examination additionally revealed that Ahmed Muhammed, listed as ‘at massive’ in Rely One of many cost, was, in actual fact, alive, nicely, and throughout the court docket’s jurisdiction.
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