Lagos High Court admits FBI's report in Mompha's trial

In the ongoing trial of Internet sensation Ismaila Mustapha, commonly known as Mompha, the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has accepted two crucial documents presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as evidence.

The two documents in question are a letter sent by the EFCC to the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a report from the Bureau itself.

The trial, presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada, took a noteworthy turn as the EFCC successfully introduced these documents during the proceedings on Monday, September 18, 2023.

As reported earlier, Mompha and his company, Ismalob Global Investment, were arraigned by the EFCC on January 12, 2022, on eight charges, including conspiracy to launder unlawfully obtained funds, retaining proceeds of criminal conduct, money laundering, failure to disclose assets, possession of fraudulent documents, and using property derived from unlawful activities. These charges are in violation of the Advance Fee Fraud Act of 2006 and the EFCC Act of 2004.

Among the accusations, Mompha and his company were alleged to have conspired to launder illicit funds, transferred funds for an individual known as Olayinka Jimoh (Nappy Boy), and engaged in unlawful transfers of funds for a record label, among other offenses.

Furthermore, the EFCC claimed that Mompha concealed his interest in luxury wristwatches and other movable assets valued at over ₦70 million.

Mompha entered a plea of not guilty to all eight charges, and on behalf of his company, Islamob Limited, he pleaded not guilty to the first six charges.

During the recent proceedings, Mompha's legal counsel, led by Kolawole Salami, raised objections to the admissibility of the two documents, arguing that they were public documents from the United States Consulate and required certification before being accepted as evidence.

Salami asserted, "The documents are not certified true copies, and should not be admitted in court."

However, Justice Dada overruled the defense's objections, siding with the prosecution's argument that the FBI documents were indeed original and did not necessitate certification.

What happened in court

The EFCC's counsel, Suleiman Suleiman, had presented the documents through his witness, Ayotunde Solademi, an FBI representative, who testified in court about the Bureau's forensic operation.

Solademi disclosed that he had retrieved Mompha's iPhone with a Faraday bag and that the FBI's forensic analysis had uncovered that the iPhone had been used for activities such as sending account details to a United Arab Emirates (UAE) telephone number, searching for Swift Codes of a bank, and having a compromised Microsoft 365 account.

The witness also revealed that the iPhone had been used to change payment delivery from cheque to wire transfer.

Under cross-examination, the defense counsel, Salami, highlighted a paragraph in the documents indicating that the FBI documents should not be used in a legal proceeding except after a separate communication had been made.

In response, Solademi argued that his presence in court to provide evidence amounted to that separate communication, permitting the use of the documents in court.

Solademi further admitted during questioning that he was unaware of any FBI arrest of the defendant and clarified that the FBI's forensic analysis of Mompha's iPhone had been carried out at the EFCC's request.

In a last-ditch effort, the defense counsel contended that the FBI representative could not confirm whether the iPhone he retrieved from the EFCC belonged to the defendant, Mompha, at the time of handover.

Following Solademi's testimony, Justice Dada adjourned the proceedings until November 1, 2023, marking a continuation of Mompha's trial.