The federal high court in Lagos has ordered that Ismaila Mustapha, an ‘Instagram billionaire’ better known as Mompha, be remanded in prison over the N
The federal high court in Lagos has ordered that Ismaila Mustapha, an ‘Instagram billionaire’ better known as Mompha, be remanded in prison over the N32.9bn scam allegation against him.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Mompha in Abuja while he was trying to leave the country for alleged internet fraud and money laundering. Less than a week after Mompha’s arrest, the anti-graft agency nabbed Hamza Koudeih, a Lebanese, alongside two other suspected accomplices of the Instagram celebrity.
On Monday, Mohammed Liman, the presiding judge, directed that he be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS). The judge gave the directive after the suspected internet fraudster had pleaded not guilty to the 14 charges of laundering filed by the EFCC. The court also fixed November 29, for the hearing of the defendant bail application.
In a sheet signed by Rotimi Oyedepo, one of the commission’s counsels, the EFCC had claimed that Mompha laundered the funds through a firm which was the second defendant – Ismalob Global Investment Ltd – between 2015 and 2018. It also claimed that the funds, domiciled in a commercial bank, were moved in tranches of N18,059,353,413 and N14,946,773,393.
The ‘Instagram billionaire’ had last week filed fundamental rights enforcement suit against the commission, alleging unlawful detention.
