Mompha case update: How surety documents were wrongfully held by court

 The Ikeja Special Offences Court's administrative handling of the celebrated case against Ismail Mustapha aka Mompha, has been found operating below accepted court administrative  standards.

Mompha was arrested on January 10 by the EFCC but was arraigned and granted bail.

However, the defendant has failed to appear in court on two scheduled dates for his trial, leading to Justice Mojisola Dada, revoking his bail and issuing a bench warrant for his arrest, on the 22nd of June 2022.

Documents sighted by our reporter has now revealed how the court actually wrongly handled the surety documents in the case.

Justice Dada had in the last sitting adjourned the case until June 16, 2022, for further consideration on the bail application and ordered the defendant to be in the custody of the defense counsel.

Mompha’s bail was granted to the learned silk and his counsel, Gboyega Oyewole, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

A maladministration error by the court clerk (Da Silva), left the previous surety’s names (which includes Antony Akala, a PDP house of representative candidate) listed on the case.

Indeed, the surety’s had fulfilled the N25m cash obligation for Mompha’s bail, the order on the 10th of June, relieved them of it.

The error was only uncovered after the EFCC counsel, Mr Oyedepo, requested court documents, finding out that the surety’s didn’t sign for the release of Mompha.

We also sighted letters sent to the court by Antony Akala’s counsel, requesting a release from any form of encumbrances relating to the case.