Crime
Alleged Money Laundering: Witness Reveals N35bn Was In Mompha’s Accounts
The sixth prosecution witness, PW6, Idi Musa, in the trial of Ismaila Mustapha, (a.k.a Mompha) an investigator with the EFCC, on Monday, July 1, 2024, told Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos how the sum of N35bn was found in two bank accounts linked to the defendant.
The Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had, on January 12, 2022, arraigned Mompha alongside his company, Ismalob Global Investment Limited, on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy to launder funds obtained through unlawful activity, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, laundering of funds obtained through unlawful activity, failure to disclose assets and property, possession of documents containing false pretences and use of property derived from unlawful act.
One of the counts reads, “Ismaila Mustapha, Ahmadu Mohammed (at large) and Ismalob Global Investment Limited, sometime in 2016, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to conduct financial transactions to the tune of 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), with the intent of promoting the carrying on of specified unlawful activities to wit: obtaining by false pretence.”
He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges when they were read to him.
On September 22, 2022, Justice Dada had ordered that the trial of Mompha would continue in absentia after he jumped bail.
At Monday’s proceedings, Musa, while being led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, S. I. Suleiman, narrated how he knew the first and second defendants in the course of investigations into the alleged criminal activities.
He told the court how the Commission had received intelligence from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), informing it that the first and second defendants were into cybercrime in the United States of America, USA.
He said, “Sometime in 2019, we received intelligence from the FBI, USA. The letter was addressed to the Commission, informing us that the first and second defendants were involved in cybercrime, otherwise known as Yahoo Yahoo.”
According to him, in the course of the investigation, some letters were written to two major banks requesting the account statements of the second defendant linked to the first defendant.
In his further testimony, he told the court that “The account statements were received and analysed.
“During the analysis, we discovered a heavy flow of N30bn through the account of the first defendant (Mompha) in one of the banks and about N5bn in another bank account.
“Letters were written to the FBI, and the Special Fraud Unit of the Commission, regarding the defendant’s claim that he was into Bureau De change business, in view of the volume of these transactions.
“A letter was also written to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and other relevant agencies”.
He also told the court that the investigation revealed that the first defendant did not reside in Nigeria and that efforts to reach him proved abortive.
The PW 6 said, “A letter was written to the Nigeria Immigration Services, NIS, on October 16, 2019, to arrest the defendant anytime he was seen in the country.
“On October 18, 2019, the first defendant got information that the Commission was looking for him, while he was in Nigeria. So, he quickly got to the airport and boarded a flight in order to jet out of the country to evade arrest.
“The team got the information through the NIS officers at the airport. By then, Mompha had already boarded the flight. So, they had to call him to come down and he was immediately arrested. He was subsequently handed over to the EFCC by the immigration officers”.
When asked about the findings regarding the defendant’s bank account, Musa said over N30bn was discovered, adding that “ he told us that he was into Bureau De Change business. But investigation showed that he was not.
“We have already concluded investigations in that regard. The offences border on money laundering, operating BDC without a licence before a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.”
He also told the court that a report from the FBI’s forensic analysis revealed that Mompha’s iPhone was used to send account details to a United Arab Emirates telephone number, which he used to search for Swift Codes of a bank.
“Upon his arrest, all the properties recovered from him were registered with the Exhibits Section in the EFCC office.
“Most of the properties were released to him on bond, except his iPhone 8 which is still with the Commission.
“The items are proceeds of crime because when he was given the Assets Declaration Form, he did not include those items,” he added.
The prosecution then tendered both the first defendant’s statement as well as the Asset Declaration Form.
They were admitted in evidence as exhibits P5 and P6 by the court.
Consequently, Justice Dada adjourned the case till Tuesday, October 8, 2024, for the continuation of trial.
The Nigeria Police Force has commenced steps to investigate alleged financial crimes involving more than ₦178 million against the National Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Alhaji Mogaji Ibrahim Olaniyan, and other national executive officers of the organisation.
The allegations were contained in a petition submitted to the Inspector-General of Police on July 13, 2026, by the law firm of A.F. Obainoke & Co. on behalf of some elected national officers of the PCRC.
According to the petition, Olaniyan and some other national executive officers were accused of financial crimes involving more than ₦178 million.
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The petitioners said they were elected into various national positions in the PCRC in 2022, including the position of National Auditor, while Olaniyan was elected National Chairman and subsequently sworn into office.
In a letter dated July 20, 2026, the office of the Inspector-General of Police forwarded the petition to the Director of Legal Services of the Nigeria Police Force for appropriate action.
The letter, signed by CP Lateef Ahmed, Principal Staff Officer, conveyed the directive of the Inspector-General for the matter to be handled by the legal services department.
The document, according to the report, was received by the Directorate of Legal Services on July 28, 2026.
The latest development comes amid ongoing allegations and internal disputes surrounding the leadership of the PCRC under Olaniyan.
Previous Allegations
The development follows earlier allegations of financial mismanagement and accountability concerns within the organisation.
In March, some PCRC members reportedly accused Olaniyan of failing to account for more than ₦20 million allegedly generated from registration fees for the organisation’s 2026 national leadership workshop.
Sources cited in the report claimed that more than 2,000 PCRC members registered for the workshop at ₦12,000 each in January and February 2026.
The report also alleged that the organisation had not conducted a comprehensive audit of its national accounts for more than three years.
Another PCRC controversy emerged in 2023 when an eight-member committee was reportedly constituted to investigate allegations involving ₦60.3 million allegedly embezzled by the chairman.
A document cited in the report indicated that the committee confirmed that ₦60.3 million had been realised by the PCRC and reviewed expenditure records, with an alleged balance of approximately ₦1.4 million.
The committee reportedly recommended measures including greater financial discipline, limiting the chairman’s powers and ensuring compliance with the organisation’s constitution.
PCRC Election Controversy
The latest allegations also come amid disputes over internal elections within the PCRC.
In July, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 13, AIG Godwin Iguh Eze, reportedly postponed a PCRC Zone 13 election over alleged procedural issues.
The police said nomination forms had not been made available to the AIG or the Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, while contestants had also not been screened by the AIG or members of the Zonal Management Team.
Sources further alleged that Olaniyan had sought to influence the electoral process, although he reportedly did not respond to attempts to obtain his reaction.
Meanwhile, sources within the PCRC reportedly claimed that Olaniyan is seeking another tenure as National Chairman ahead of the November 29 election.
Operatives of the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested Basil Iwoba Ochili, Managing Director of Debasilio Construction and Estate Development Limited, over alleged fraudulent activities involving N128 million.
The EFCC disclosed this in a statement posted on its official X account on Wednesday.
According to the commission, Ochili was arrested for allegedly using his company for fraudulent activities, including “obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N128,000,000.00 (One Hundred and Twenty-eight Million Naira).”
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The EFCC said Ochili was arrested based on a claim by a petitioner who alleged that sometime in September 2022, the suspect falsely presented himself as the owner of five plots of land situated beside Anambra State Secretariat by Stamford Hotel, Aroma Junction, Awka, Anambra State, and falsely offered the property for sale.
“Relying on the suspect’s representation, the petitioner purchased the said plots in the sum of N128,000,000.00 (One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Million Naira), which was paid into the suspect’s company account,” the EFCC said.
However, the commission said the petitioner was unable to take possession of the land.
Preliminary investigations, according to the EFCC, showed that the suspect knew that the land “encroached on Anambra State Government Secretariat’s land” but allegedly went ahead to sell it to the petitioner.
The commission further said that instead of refunding the petitioner’s money, Ochili “offered him two dud cheques.”
“Further preliminary investigations showed that the suspect used part of the money to settle his debts,” the EFCC said.
The commission also stated that Ochili’s company, Debasilio Construction and Estate Development Limited, “has never been tax compliant.”
The EFCC said the suspect will be charged to court after investigations are concluded.
“The suspect will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded,” the commission stated.
The Federal High Court (FHC) sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced nine convicted crude oil thieves to 10 years in prison without an option of fine following a joint intelligence-led operation by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Navy (NN).
The convicts were among 19 suspects arrested earlier this year after security operatives caught them allegedly stealing crude oil from an oil well head identified as Asabo-D in Ibeno Local Council of the state.
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Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Joy Ikpeme found the nine men guilty on a two-count charge of conspiracy and tampering with an oil pipeline, contrary to Section 1(7) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act.
The judge sentenced each of them to five years’ imprisonment on the first count and 10 years on the second count, with no option of fine. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The remaining 10 suspects arrested during the operation are expected to face further legal proceedings.
The arrests followed an intelligence-led operation conducted by the DSS in collaboration with the NN as part of efforts to disrupt crude oil theft and illegal bunkering activities in the oil-producing communities of Akwa Ibom.
The conviction was described by a security source as another significant step in the sustained campaign against oil theft, particularly along Nigeria’s maritime and riverine areas.
According to the source, crude oil theft and illegal bunkering have continued to deprive the country of vital oil revenue while inflicting serious environmental damage on host communities.
The source said the latest conviction underscored the determination of security agencies to ensure that those involved in the theft of the nation’s crude resources are brought to justice.
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