UPDATED: Ex-Power Minister Saleh Mamman jailed 75 Years for N33.8bn Fraud

UPDATED: Ex-Power Minister Saleh Mamman jailed 75 Years for N33.8bn Fraud

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday sentenced former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, to a total of 75 years’ imprisonment in absentia over a N33.8 billion fraud and money laundering case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The court convicted Mamman on all 12 counts filed against him by the anti-graft agency, ruling that the prosecution successfully proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Justice Omotosho ordered that the prison terms should run consecutively rather than concurrently, bringing the total jail term to 75 years.

The former minister was sentenced to seven years imprisonment each on counts 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 without an option of fine.

He was also sentenced to three years imprisonment on count four with an option of a N10 million fine and two years imprisonment on count five without an option of fine.

The court held that Mamman deliberately absconded from trial in a bid to frustrate the administration of justice.

Relying on provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, Justice Omotosho agreed with EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), that sentencing could legally proceed despite the defendant’s absence in court.

The judge consequently ordered all security agencies, including Interpol, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Immigration Service, to arrest Mamman wherever he is found and hand him over to the Nigerian Correctional Service to begin serving his sentence.

According to the court, the sentence will commence from the date of his arrest.

READ ALSO:

• JUST IN: Kano APC Crisis Ends as Gwarzo Withdraws Senate Bid, Backs Barau Jibrin
• Zamfara Airstrike: 72 Feared Dead as Military, Amnesty Disagree on Death Toll
• How Suspected Kidnappers Lured UNIJOS Graduate With Job Offer

Justice Omotosho also ordered the final forfeiture of all funds, foreign currencies and properties recovered from the former minister, including several properties traced to him in Abuja.

The court further directed Mamman to refund the outstanding balance from the N22 billion already traced to him out of the N33.8 billion allegedly diverted from funds earmarked for the Mambilla and Zungeru hydroelectric power projects.

The EFCC had accused the former minister of conspiring with ministry officials and private companies to divert public funds through a network of Bureau de Change operators who allegedly converted the money into foreign currencies before handing it over to him.

Investigators told the court that part of the diverted funds was used to acquire luxury properties in Abuja and other assets.

The court also found that Mamman violated anti-money laundering laws by making a cash payment of $655,700, equivalent to about N200 million, for a property in Abuja without passing through any financial institution as required by law.

Justice Omotosho, in a strongly worded judgment, criticised the former minister for enriching himself at a time Nigeria continued to struggle with poor electricity supply and inadequate power infrastructure.

“Rather than creating a legacy to tackle the epileptic power supply in the country, the defendant was living large at the expense of ordinary Nigerians,” the judge reportedly said during the proceedings.

Mamman, who served as Minister of Power under former President Muhammadu Buhari between 2019 and 2021, was initially arraigned by the EFCC in July 2024 in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/273/2024.

The charges bordered on conspiracy, money laundering and unlawful diversion of funds linked to the Mambilla and Zungeru hydroelectric power projects, two major electricity projects intended to boost Nigeria’s power generation capacity.

The prosecution presented multiple witnesses, financial documents, bank records and property acquisition evidence during the trial to establish the movement and laundering of the funds.

Justice Omotosho had earlier, on May 7, convicted the former minister in absentia after ruling that the EFCC had sufficiently established his culpability and subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest.

The conviction marks one of the heaviest prison sentences secured by the EFCC against a former federal cabinet member in recent years and is expected to reignite public debate over corruption and accountability in Nigeria’s power sector.

UPDATED: Ex-Power Minister Saleh Mamman jailed 75 Years for N33.8bn Fraud