Social Media influencer, Mr Ismail Mustapha, popularly known as Mompha, has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to retract all libellous publications made against him.
Mompha also asked the antigraft agency to tender an unreserved apology as the libellous statements were published.
Mompha made the above request in a statement captioned “Request For A Retraction of The Libellous Publication Made of and Against Our Person, Mr Ismaila Mustapha Vide An Online Publication”, dated September.., 2021, made by his solicitors, made available
The statement reads in part: “We are Solicitors to Mr Ismaila Mustapha, on whose instruction we write in relation to the above subject.
“Our instruction is that vide a recent online publication, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through its image maker, Wilson Uwujaren, made a libellous and defamatory statement of and concerning our Client, Mr Ismaila Mustapha in the following terms.
“The Defendants, who are accomplices to a notorious internet fraudster, Ismaila Mustapha, alias Mompha, pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against them by the Commission, thereby leading to their full trial.”
“Our Client has informed us that your publication, which is in relation to one Koudeih, a Lebanese national, is not only false and without factual basis but malicious in all material respect. It is by the reckoning of our Client, a deliberate attempt sponsored and/or designed to malign his image and personality in the eyes of the public.
“We wish to state that this pattern, though unfortunate, has been consistent from the image-maker of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren. Wilson Uwujaren has persistently been making these defamatory statements about our Client without due regard for the truth and the correct position in the matter.
“We consider it pertinent to set the record straight that3 “Our Client is not a criminal or fraudster as painted in the said publication.
“Our Client does not know this man called Koudeth and has never had anything to do with him, and nowhere in any of the charges against him was our Client mentioned or found to be his accomplice.
“Our Client has never been convicted of any crime in Nigeria even though he is charged with offences bothering on operating a bureau de change (BDC) without a licence, but he has not been convicted as the trial is ongoing.
“It is, therefore, most embarrassing that an organisation of EFCC’s level, (which in most material times is comparable to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States of America,) would hastily defame a suspect, who to her knowledge is being prosecuted by the organisation, and has not been convicted for any crime known to law in Nigeria.
“We were convinced that with your well-deserved appointment as the Chairman of the EFCC, the organisation would take on a more humane and well-civilized approach to many of its things, and we have not been disappointed thus far It is therefore surprising that the publicity person of the organisation recklessly go persistently on such an uncivilized role of casting unfounded aspersions on our Client without any conviction by any court of law in Nigeria,
“In the light of that, we wish to request that the organisation through its image maker, Wilson Uwajaren, withdraws/retract the blanket statement against our Client forthwith and with the same publicity as was given to his previous press release on the matter.
“Take notice that if you fail to heed the request of our Client within Fourteen (14) days of the receipt of this letter, we shall be constrained to proceed to the court of law against your organisation for exemplary damages for injurious falsehood and malicious publication made of and concerning our client.”