Ola Olukoyede, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes agency, has ordered the invitation of Ismaila Mustapha alias Mompha, a socialite, to substantiate his charges against the agency.
Mompha is currently on trial on eight counts, including conspiracy to launder monies received through unlawful activity, retention of proceeds of criminal behaviour, and laundering of funds obtained through unlawful action, among others.
On Monday, at the resumption of his trial, Idi Musa, the sixth prosecution witness, informed Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, how N35 billion was discovered in two bank accounts belonging to the defendant.
On his Instagram page on Friday, Mompha labelled the EFCC as the “most corrupt agency” in the country.
”The Most useless and Corrupt Nigeria Government Agency @officialefcc”, he said.
The EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, responded to his comment on Saturday, saying the commission has invited Mompha to submit proof against any corrupt officers.
The statement partly read, ” The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been drawn to the malicious and unsubstantiated statement made by the embattled Ismaila Mustapha, (a.k.a Mompha) alleging corruption by operatives of the Commission.
“To this end, the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has directed that Mompha be invited to bring clasping evidence of any issue of corruption against any staff of the Commission. Besides, the socialite should also justify his labelling of the EFCC as a “ useless agency” with evidential proof.
“As a responsible law enforcement agency, the EFCC would not sit back and allow libellous effusions against its reputation to go unchallenged. Mompha, to all intents and purposes, cannot be expected to paint the EFCC in bright colours owing to the professional ways officers of the Commission are handling his matter. The EFCC would not be distracted in plying its job by the antics of traducers like Mompha. ”
According to Oyewale, the Commission takes Mompha’s charges against the EFCC very seriously.
He said, “The Commission is alarmed that the accused will abandon the platform offered by the court to launch a media war against it through spurious claims. If he believes that raising phantom accusations against the Commission will sacre it from diligently prosecuting his case, he is mistaken as no amount of scaremongering will deter the Commission from pursuing the case to a logical conclusion
“While Mompha may just be a drowning man clutching at any straw owing to the overwhelming evidence of his involvement in the money laundering case, his unsubstantiated claims against the EFCC is an issue the Commission is taking seriously.”
Oyewale advised citizens to ignore his diatribe, stressing that Mompha should be prosecuted in a court of competent authority.
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