Instagram sensation Ismaila Mustapha, alias Mompha, says that he was instrumental to bringing Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, from Malaysia to the United Arab Emirates.
He noted that Hushpuppi was stubborn and would not listen to advice, hence his current travails.
Hushpuppi, who attracted millions of followers with pictures of a glamorous jet-setting lifestyle was arrested June 2020 by Dubai police amid claims of a £350m cyberscam.
He is being detained as part of an investigation into money-laundering, cyber fraud, hacking and scamming.
Eleven other suspects were detained during the coordinated early morning raids in an operation comprised of officers from the FBI, Interpol and Dubai police. Detectives seized more than 150 million dirham (£30 million) when they swooped on his Dubai apartment as he slept.
Investigators allege that Hushpuppi, a former second-hand clothes trader in Lagos, used his Instagram account to project a billionaire’s luxurious lifestyle to attract followers and lure in potential victims.
Officers say they found the email addresses of nearly two million victims on dozens of phones, computers and hard drives. More than a dozen luxury cars were seized in the raid along with suitcases full of cash.
The operation, codenamed Fox Hunt 2, came after months of investigation into the group’s activities.
Mompha spoke on an Instagram live session with Daddy Freeze, in a vitriol-filled delivery.
Mompha said that after Hushpuppi’s arrest, people accused him of being responsible for it and that the agent that facilitated his [Hushpuppi’s] UAE visa was mortified at the turn of events.
Speaking in Pidgin English, he said, “The day dem carry Hushpuppi, I got lots of calls, with people saying, ‘Baba, see wetin you caused; na you make dem carry this guy; na you e dey compete with.’”
Mompha disclosed that, because of the pressure, he pulled down certain photographs from his Instagram handle but that “EFCC called me direct to post my pictures back.” He did not state who called him from the anti-graft agency.
“Na EFCC called me direct to post my pictures back because it will be as if, may be, I dey involved,” Mompha said.
It may be recalled that the UAE-based Instagram personality had stood trial in Nigeria alongside his company, Ismalob Global Investment Ltd, on an amended 22-count bordering on cyber fraud and money laundering to the tune of N33bn.
iPhone 8 device, and a pair of sunglasses, which were among other items found on him when he was arrested on October 19, 2019, in Abuja.
His visit to the EFCC office followed a July 24 ruling by Justice Mohammed Liman ordering the release of the items.
His lawyer, Gboyega Oyewole, said Mompha also withdrew the N5m breach of fundamental human rights suit he filed against the EFCC to challenge his re-arrest.
Continuing, Mompha said, “I’m not angry that I’m always linked with Hushpuppi’s case because if I didn’t bring him, all these issues would not be linked to me. But it’s a normal thing.
“However, the only thing that messed him up was that he didn’t listen and he’s very stubborn.