Lagos Court Discharge Social Media Influencer Mompha
By Sherif Salau
The Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has discharged social media influencer Ismaila Mustapha, popularly known as Mompha, from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) alleged ₦6 billion money laundering case, marking a major turn in the high-profile legal battle.
Justice Mojisola Dada struck out the entire eight-count charge and discharged both Mompha and his company, Ismalob Global Investment Limited. The judge held that the prosecution amounted to an abuse of court process and forum shopping, noting that a similar matter was already pending before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.
In her ruling, Justice Dada described the decision to pursue parallel proceedings over related allegations as improper. She further observed that Count 8 of the charge appeared to be an afterthought, designed merely to create a distinction between the case before her court and the one at the Federal High Court. On the allegation of failure to disclose assets, the judge found no intention on Mompha’s part to conceal items recovered from him, noting that the same items had been disclosed in an extrajudicial statement made shortly after the asset declaration form was filed in October 2019.
The EFCC had arraigned Mompha and his company on January 12, 2022, on charges that included conspiracy to launder funds allegedly derived from unlawful activities, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, failure to disclose assets, possession of documents containing false pretences, and the use of property derived from unlawful acts. The agency alleged that Mompha, together with one Ahmadu Mohammed (who remains at large) and the company, conducted financial transactions valued at approximately ₦6 billion in 2016 with the intention of facilitating unlawful activities, including obtaining money by false pretences.
Mompha pleaded not guilty to all the counts and maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings. The trial later continued in his absence after he stopped appearing in court following the grant of bail. The prosecution called six witnesses and tendered documentary exhibits before closing its case. Defence counsel later failed to produce witnesses, leading the court to close the defence case.
Tuesday’s decision ends the proceedings before the Ikeja Special Offences Court. However, the existence of a related case at the Federal High Court means the broader legal questions surrounding the allegations are not fully resolved.
Mompha, who rose to prominence through a highly visible social media presence showcasing luxury lifestyles and business ventures, has described the outcome as the end of a long period of legal pressure that began in 2019. In a public statement following the ruling, he characterised the charges as baseless and thanked his legal team, family and supporters.
The discharge marks a significant procedural victory for the influencer in one of the more closely watched financial crime cases involving a high-profile social media figure in recent years. Whether the parallel proceedings at the Federal High Court will produce a different outcome remains to be seen.
