Internet personality, Ismaila Mustapha, alias Mompha, has asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to compel the EFCC to pay him N5 million for what he termed as “unlawful re-arrest and detention”.
Mompha, who Nelsdaily.com had earlier reported is facing fresh money laundering charges, was re-arrested on Friday, 14 August 2020, when he went to the EFCC office in Ikoyi, Lagos to reclaim his properties which included five wristwatches, one Apple Air pod, one iPhone 8 mobile phone and one pair of sunglasses, seized from him by the anti-graft agency since last year.
Justice Mohammed Liman had ordered the release of the seized items after the July 24 ruling on the grounds that the EFCC did not list them as exhibits in court and with this reason, Mompha paid a visit to the anti-graft agency office to pick up his items.
Mompha’s lawyer Mr Gboyega Oyewole, SAN, filed a suit on Tuesday appealing to the court to declare that his client’s re-arrest and detention by the EFCC was unjustifiable and unlawful.
Gboyega 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 and to order the court to set him free and pay him N5 million for damages.
Kayode Adeboye, who is a litigation officer in the office of his lawyer, also agreed that Mompha’s arrest was baseless because he had been granted bail by the court and never absconded.
According to Adeboye, in line with the bail conditions, Mompha had been reporting at the EFCC office fortnightly without defaulting.
The spokesman for the EFCC, Mr Dele Oyewale, however, said Mompha’s re-arrest was connected to a fresh set of cyber fraud charges.
The court is yet to fix a date to hear Mompha’s N5 million suit.
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