“Abuse Of Court Process” — Court Strikes Out EFCC’s ₦6bn Money Laundering Charge Against Mompha, Company

The Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has struck out the ₦6 billion money laundering charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against social media personality Ismaila Mustapha, popularly known as Mompha, and his company, Ismalob Global Investment Limited.

Justice Mojisola Dada, who delivered the ruling on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, held that the EFCC’s decision to prosecute the defendants before the Lagos State Special Offences Court while a related case was pending before the Federal High Court amounted to an abuse of court process.

The judge faulted the anti-graft agency for pursuing the two cases simultaneously, describing its action as forum shopping.

She also questioned the inclusion of the eighth count in the charge before her court, describing it as an afterthought intended to distinguish the Ikeja proceedings from the existing case before the Federal High Court.

The ruling brought an end to the proceedings before the Lagos State Special Offences Court, although the separate money laundering case instituted by the EFCC at the Federal High Court remained the subject of related proceedings.

The EFCC had arraigned Mompha and Ismalob Global Investment Limited on January 12, 2022, on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy to launder proceeds of unlawful activities, retention of proceeds of crime, failure to disclose assets and possession of documents containing false pretences.

According to the prosecution, Mompha, one Ahmadu Mohammed, who was said to be at large, and his company allegedly conspired in 2016 to conduct financial transactions amounting to ₦5,998,884,653.18.

The commission alleged that the transactions were intended to promote unlawful activities, including obtaining money by false pretences.

Mompha and his company pleaded not guilty to the charges.

During the trial, the prosecution team, led by Suleiman Suleiman, called six witnesses and tendered documentary exhibits in support of the allegations.

However, Mompha stopped attending court proceedings after being granted bail, although his lawyers, Kolawole Salami and Ademola Adefolaju, continued to represent him.

The defence did not call any witnesses but challenged the competence of the prosecution, arguing that the proceedings constituted an abuse of court process because the EFCC had already instituted a related criminal action against the defendants before the Federal High Court.

In November 2025, Justice Dada dismissed a no-case submission filed by Mompha and his company, holding at the time that the prosecution had established a prima facie case requiring the defendants to enter their defence.

The defendants subsequently challenged that decision before the Court of Appeal.

Following further proceedings, the prosecution and defence adopted their final written addresses on June 30, after which the judge reserved judgment.

In her decision on Tuesday, Justice Dada examined the existence of the related proceedings before the Federal High Court and concluded that the EFCC’s simultaneous prosecution of the defendants constituted an abuse of judicial process.

The judge also considered the allegation that Mompha failed to disclose certain assets recovered from him.

On that issue, she held that there was no intention to conceal the assets, noting that Mompha had disclosed them in an extrajudicial statement made on October 22, 2019, two days after submitting his asset declaration form.

Justice Dada consequently struck out the charge against Mompha and his company.

The EFCC’s separate proceedings before the Federal High Court in Lagos formed a central part of the dispute.

In that case, the commission accused Mompha and Ismalob Global Investment Limited of using company accounts to retain approximately ₦32.9 billion suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

The Federal High Court charge was initially filed in 2019 and subsequently amended.

The defence maintained that pursuing the related allegations before two courts amounted to an improper use of judicial proceedings, a contention upheld by Justice Dada in striking out the case before her.

The ruling represents another development in the series of criminal proceedings instituted by the EFCC against Mompha since 2019 over allegations of laundering billions of naira for cybercrime syndicates and using corporate entities to conceal suspected illicit funds.

Mompha has consistently denied the allegations.

Although the Lagos State Special Offences Court struck out the ₦6 billion charge on the ground of abuse of court process, the decision does not, by itself, amount to a determination of the separate allegations contained in the proceedings before the Federal High Court.

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