A Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has struck out the ₦6 billion money laundering charges filed against socialite Ismaila Mustapha, better known as Mompha.
It was reported that Justice Mojisola Dada, who delivered the judgment on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, ruled that the case before her court amounted to an abuse of court process because a similar matter was already pending before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The judge held that pursuing the same allegations in two different courts amounted to forum shopping.
She consequently struck out all eight counts filed against Mompha and discharged him.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had on January 12, 2022, arraigned Mompha and his company, Ismalob Global Investment Limited, over alleged financial crimes involving about ₦6 billion.
The charges included conspiracy to launder money suspected to have been obtained through illegal activities, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, money laundering, failure to declare assets and possession of documents allegedly containing false information.
The anti-graft agency also accused Mompha, an individual identified as Ahmadu Mohammed, who is said to be at large, and his company of carrying out suspicious financial transactions worth ₦5,998,884,653.18 in 2016.
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According to the EFCC, the transactions were allegedly carried out to promote unlawful activities, including obtaining money through false pretences.
Mompha pleaded not guilty to all the charges when he was brought before the court.
During the trial, the prosecution, led by lawyer Suleiman Suleiman, presented six witnesses and submitted several documents as evidence to support its allegations against the defendant.
However, the defence lawyers, Kolawole Salami and Ademola Adefolaju, did not present any witnesses during the proceedings.
The socialite also stopped attending court sittings after he was granted bail. As part of his bail conditions, he was required to deposit his international passport with the court.
He was subsequently accused of obtaining another passport and leaving Nigeria despite the ongoing trial.
However, in her final decision, Justice Dada maintained that the existence of a similar case at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi made it improper for the prosecution to continue with the charges before her court.
The ruling led to the removal of all eight charges against Mompha, bringing the proceedings before the Lagos Special Offences Court to an end.
