A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, sentenced former Minister of Power Saleh Mamman to 75 years in prison for fraud and money laundering involving ₦33.8 billion earmarked for power projects.
Justice James Omotosho convicted Mamman on all 12 counts brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and ruled that the prison terms run consecutively. He received seven years each on 10 counts, three years on count four, and two years on count five. The court allowed a ₦10 million fine only on count four and gave no option of fine on the other counts.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of foreign currencies and four properties in Abuja traced to Mamman. He directed security agencies and Interpol to arrest the former minister, stating that the jail term would begin from the date of his arrest.
Mamman was sentenced in absentia after the court convicted him on May 7. He has remained absent from proceedings since then.
Saleh Mamman served as Minister of Power from 2019 to 2021 in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. The EFCC charged him with diverting funds released for the Mambilla and Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant projects.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Mamman made a cash payment of $655,700, equivalent to ₦200 million, for landed property in Abuja without passing through a financial institution. The court found that funds were moved through Bureau de Change operators who converted them to foreign currencies and handed them to the defendant.
Justice Omotosho said the prosecution’s evidence was “overwhelming as against the scanty and almost absent defence of the defendant” and ruled that the EFCC had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
A High Court of the FCT in Maitama also revoked Mamman’s bail in a separate ₦31 billion fraud case and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear in court. The judge ordered that trial continue in his absence under Section 352 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.
The 75-year sentence is one of the longest handed to a former Nigerian minister on corruption charges.