Alleged Fraud: Mompha in plea bargain talks with EFCC

Popular Nigerian online socialite, Ismaila Mustapha, also known as Mompha, is having plea agreement talks with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the fraud charges instituted against him.

The prosecution and the defence teams confirmed the ongoing talks when the matter came up at the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday.

The defence team led by Gboyega Oyewole had earlier informed the court on March 28 that his client, who faces charges involving about N5.9 billion in suspicious transactions, intended to engage the prosecution on the possibility of securing a plea agreement.

“Most important, my lord, is that the defendant wants to engage the prosecution on the charges,” Mr Oyewole had said.

At Wednesday’s proceedings, the prosecuting counsel, S.I. Suleiman informed the court that both parties were “in the process towards a plea bargain”, the EFCC’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement.

In response, Kolawole Salami, who stood in for Mompha’s lead defence counsel, Mr Oyewole, on Wednesday, confirmed the position.

“The defendant wants his peace of mind and still maintains his no-guilty plea,” he added.

Mompha had been attending court proceedings from prison due to his inability to meet the conditions of the bail granted him by the court as far back as January.

Only last month, following an application by defence lawyers for the reduction of the bail conditions, did the judge, Mojisola Dada, reduce the bail sum from N200 million to N25 million, but still with two sureties in like sum.

The judge, under the reviewed conditions, also ordered that one of the sureties must own a property worth N50 million in Lagos instead of N100 million worth of property earlier ordered.

A plea agreement is a legal mechanism in criminal proceedings that enables the defence to get a lighter punishment by pleading guilty and saves the prosecution the time and resources that a full blown trial would ordinarily require.

Mompha had earlier pleaded not guilty to the eight charges of fraud filed against him. But his talks with the EFCC may be an indication of his readiness to change his plea from “not guilty” to “guilty” in exchange for a lighter punishment.

The judge, Ms Dada, on Wednesday, adjourned the matter until June 2, after the parties sought more time for the talks over the proposed plea agreement.

EFCC is prosecuting Mompha on eight counts of fraud.

One of the charges reads: “Ismaila Mustapha, Ahmadu Mohammed (at large) and Ismalobafter-partiestment 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.”