Former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, has been sentenced to 75 years in prison over financial impropriety and fraud when he served under the administration of late former, president Muhammadu Buhari.
He was convicted and sentenced on Tuesday by
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja for stealing and embezzling public funds totalling about ₦33.8 billion.
The presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, while delivering his judgment found Mamman guilty of all 12 counts of fraud and money laundering charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
While he was sentenced to seven years each on 10 counts of the charge which are expected to run concurrently, the court jailed him for three years and two years on counts four and five of the charge without the option of fine except on count four, for which he was allowed to pay a N10 million fine.
Furthermore, the court ordered the forfeiture of various foreign currencies that were recovered from the convict, as well as four choice properties in Abuja that were traced to him.
The court had on court had on May 7, convicted the former minister in absentia.
Justice Omotosho averred that the anti-graft agency proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt as it successfully established the former Minister’s culpability.
He convicted him on all grounds of the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/273/2024.
The court found that he made a cash payment of $655,700 (equivalent to ₦200 million) for landed property in Abuja, without recourse to a financial institution.
He was also found guilty of criminal breach of trust in relation to funds released by the federal government for the Mambilla and Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant projects.
The court noted that most of the funds were moved through Bureau de Change operators (BDCs), who converted the money into foreign currencies and handed it over to the defendant.
“The evidence of the prosecution is overwhelming against the scanty and almost absent defence of the defendant.
“The defendant did not offer any credible evidence to rebut the prosecution’s case,” Justice Omotosho held.
The trial judge castigated the defendant over his flamboyant and ostentatious lifestyle while totally abandoning his primary responsibility of addressing the nation’s power challenges.
“Rather than creating a legacy to tackle the epileptic power supply in the country, the defendant was living large at the expense of ordinary citizens.
“Little wonder that Nigerians have remained in darkness till today,” the judge added.
Meanwhile, the defendant who was absent when he was convicted by the court, was also not present when the sentence was passed.
The court had issued a warrant for his arrest.
A lawyer, Mr Mohammed Ahmed, who represented the convict, told the court that he did not know where he was and he had become incommunicado.
After the sentencing, Justice Omotosho ordered all the security agencies to collaborate with the Interpol to ensure that the convict is apprehended.
He ruled that the sentence should start running from the day of his arrest
