Tobias Sylvester
Instagram celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha, popularly known as Mompha, has dragged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before a High Court in Lagos State, for his “unlawful re-arrest and detention.”
In the suit filed by his lawyer, Gboyega Oyewole, on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, Mompha urged the court to award N5m against the EFCC for detaining him beyond the constitutionally-allowed period without being charged to court.
KanyiDaily had reported that Mompha, who is answering N32bn fraud charges, was re-arrested last Friday when he went to the EFCC office in Ikoyi, Lagos to retrieve items seized from him by the anti-graft agency since last year.
The visit followed a July 24 ruling by Justice Mohammed Liman ordering the release of the seized items on the grounds that the EFCC did not list them as exhibits in court.
In the suit on Tuesday, Mompha prayed the court to declare that his re-arrest and detention by the EFCC was unjustifiable and unlawful.
He is equally urging the court to declare that the continued seizure of the items violated his right to own property under Section 44 of the Constitution.
He is praying the court to order the EFCC not only to free him but also to give him back the seized items and pay him N5m damages.
A litigation officer in the office of his lawyer, Kayode Adeboye, contended that Mompha’s arrest was baseless because he had been granted bail by the court and he never absconded.
But the spokesman for the EFCC, Mr Dele Oyewale said Mompha’s re-arrest was connected to a fresh set of cyber fraud charges.
