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Mompha’s alleged Lebanese accomplice arrested in N1.8b Lagos home with charms

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4 years ago

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A LEBANESE Hamza Koudeih and two other suspected accomplices of social media celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha (a.k.a. Mompha), have been arrested in Lagos.

Koudeih was arrested at the weekend after a three-hour stand-off at his N1.8 billion luxury apartment in the 33-storey Eko Atlantic Pearl Tower, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Mompha, Koudeih and the others are suspected to be kingpins of a network of cybercriminals who laundered N33 billion through three firms.

His arrest by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), followed intelligence unearthed after Mompha’s arrest last Tuesday.

The Nation learnt that when the anti-graft agency’s operatives arrived at his luxury suite, Koudeih and his wife refused to open the door.

The couple also did not respond to appeals from the building’s chief security officer.

But the operatives, who had been monitoring the premises and had it surrounded, knew the Lebanese were inside. His cars were parked in the garage downstairs.

The apartment was fortified with triple reinforced fire-proof door and closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras and they could not gain entrance.

It was gathered that the EFCC investigators battled for three hours to break down the door using breaching tools.

When they gained access, they met his wife who claimed Koudeih had escaped through the window.

But Koudeih’s apartment is on one of the topmost floors of Eko Atlantic Pearl Tower, said to be the tallest apartment building in Nigeria.

“Our officials knew that he was still inside and they were even hoping to persuade him not to jump out through the window because it would be suicide,” EFCC Lagos Zonal Head, Mr Mohammed Rabo, who confirmed the arrest, told The Nation.

But they did not find Koudeih in any of the rooms until they observed that a part of the ceiling in his bedroom had been artificially sealed.

They pushed it open and found Koudeih hiding in the ceiling.

A further search of his bedroom revealed a fire-proof safe containing different charms and talismans in calabashes.

According to the EFCC, the Lebanese admitted they were his “prayer objects”. Two luxury cars were also recovered from him.

Rabo said the commission was investigating Koudeih and his wife’s immigration status and the result was being expected.

He said it had been confirmed that they had Lebanese ancestry but it was not known if they had any other nationality.

The nationality of the two other suspects, he explained, was not yet known.

Rabo stated that local and international law enforcement agencies had indicated interest to collaborate in the investigation.

He said the operation that led to Koudeih’s arrest was “an offshoot of the collaboration between the EFCC and the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),” but that Koudeih was arrested based on “purely EFCC intelligence”.

Rabo added: “Actionable intelligence received from local and international law enforcement agencies had revealed that Koudeih and Mompha alongside their collaborators are high valued targets in Organised Cyber Syndicate Network (OCSN).

“Investigations have also revealed that Mompha uses a firm known as Ismalob Global Investments Limited to perpetrate about N14 billion money laundering while Koudeih also operates two firms namely: THK Services Limited and CHK properties Limited to launder about N19 billion.”

It was also learnt that the EFCC discovered 51 Nigerian bank accounts opened by Mompha for money laundering.

The commission also revealed that the five wristwatches recovered from Mompha at his arrest on Tuesday are worth over N60 million, rather than the N20 million earlier thought.

According to the EFCC, Mompha, “a premium and first-class customer of one of the popular international airlines, was arrested on Friday 18, October 2019 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on his way to Dubai Emirate following [a] series of intelligence reports received by the Commission.”

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Ex Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, Wife, others To Be Arraigned April 17 Over Dollar Video…..

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2 weeks ago

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April 10, 2024

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The Kano High Court is set to arraign Kano State’s immediate previous governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, on April 17, 2024, on charges of bribery, diversion, and theft of money, including the alleged acceptance of $413,000 and N1.38 billion in bribes.

Haruna Dederi, Kano State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, confirmed the situation, saying Ganduje would be charged with his wife and six others.

The accused individuals named in the summons are Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Hafsat Umar, Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Ltd, Safari Textiles Ltd, and Lesage General Enterprises.

The Kano State Government, which initiated the criminal suit against the eight respondents, has declared its readiness to present 15 witnesses to testify before Justice Usman Na’aba of State High Court number four.

“It is very true. We have filed the case and it’s going to hold on the 17th of April, 2024. What I cannot confirm is whether he is served or not, but he will definitely be served,” he said.

Dederi further highlighted the significance of accountability in governance, remarking, “What he (Ganduje) doesn’t understand is that you cannot run away from the evil day, it will definitely come to you, and this will even serve as a deterrence to all of us that are also in government now.”

The commissioner also addressed the jurisdictional aspect of the case, asserting,
“He was saying that we can’t prosecute him, forgetting that the offence also falls under the category of the state offences,” he said.

“It’s not totally a federal affair and we have even appealed to Justice Liman ruling on that.”

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Just In: Emefiele arrives Lagos court for arraignment

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2 weeks ago

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April 8, 2024

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The embattled former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has arrived at the Ikeja State High Court in Lagos for
his arraignment over alleged abuse of office and allocation of billions of dollars.

Emefiele, alongside his co-defendant, one Henry Isioma Omole, will be arraigned on fresh 26 counts before Justice Rahman Oshodi this morning.

In the charge marked ID/23787c/2024 and dated April 3, 2024, the EFCC alleged that Emefiele abused his office between 2022 and 2023 in Lagos.

The commission alleged that the former CBN governor “directed to be done in abuse of the authority of your office, as the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, an arbitrary act, to wit: allocating foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $2,136,391,737.33 without bids, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.”

Details later…

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Look Beyond Sentiments, Fagade Urges Critics of Tinubu’s Appointments… Congratulates FIRS Boss, Zacch Adedeji

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6 months ago

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November 1, 2023

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Businessman and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo state, Chief Abisoye Fagade has told those accusing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of nepotism to jettison primordial sentiments, vindictiveness and bitterness with a view to supporting the current administration in its drive to take Nigeria out of the doldrums.

Fagade’s submission came against the background of insinuations from some quarters that appointments made so far by President Bola Tinubu was skewed in favour of the Yoruba ethnic group or people in the south western part of the country even though there have been counter reactions from eminent personalities from all parts of the country that the accusation of nepotism against Mr. President was unfounded and invalid.

In a statement issued on Wednesday and made available to journalists in Ibadan, Fagade described the Tuesday confirmation of Dr. Zacch Adedeji as the substantive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) by the Nigerian Senate as “a step in the right direction taken to facilitate the quick realization of economic recovery agenda of the Tinubu administration.

“The appointment of Dr. Adedeji as the FIRS boss as well as other cerebral financial and economic management experts to man one key post or the other in the current administration will no doubt yield the desired results as Nigerians should expect economic rejuvenation, wealth creation and naira stability in no time. Governance is no tea party and one fundamental thing in the life of any government is having the right peg in the right hole and not the other way round.

“It is essential we congratulate our own Zacch Adedeji on the confirmation of his appointment as the FIRS boss by the Nigerian Senate in view of the fact that our confidence and trust in him as a competent administrator, seasoned financial expert and unique patriot remain constant. There are high expectations about Nigerian economy being diversified for obvious reasons by the Tinubu administration and we believe with the likes of Adedeji in FIRS, the goal would be achieved sooner than later.

“Above all, we appeal to all stakeholders in the affairs of our dear country to always eschew jingoism, ethnic biases or religious consideration on any matter relating to the interest of the most populous black nation in the world. The time to fix Nigeria is now and with the person of President Tinubu at the helms of affairs, the massive turnaround desired in our socio-economic and political architecture would begin to materialize very soon and it would not only be consolidated but also sustained for the collective benefits of all and sundry”. Fagade stated.

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