The scheduled trial of the social media celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha , on N6 billion money laundering charges was stalled at the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja on Wednesday.Mompha himself was absent from Wednesday’s proceedings.
“My lord, we are sorry our witness could not make it to court today because he is out of the country for training.The defence counsel, Kolawole Salami, however, objected to the prosecution’s submission.“My lord, the prosecution had enough time to prepare and bring their witnesses only to make an application for a virtual hearing this morning without any notification.
On 10 June 2022, the prosecution informed the court that Mompha was in possession of another passport aside the one submitted to the court as part of his bail conditions. Due to his continued absence from court and the inability of the prosecution and defence to produce him, the court, on 22 September 2022, ordered the commencement of trial of the defendant in absentia.He was also accused of retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, use of property derived from an unlawful act, and failure to disclose assets.