The Federal High Court Abuja has directed all security agencies, including INTERPOL, to arrest former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman wherever he is found and hand him over to the Nigerian Correctional Service to begin serving his sentence.
The order follows a cumulative 75 years jail sentence handed down to him by the Court over a N33.8 billion money laundering scandal linked to the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects.
Justice James Omotosho delivered the judgment on Wednesday after finding the former minister guilty on all 12 counts of conspiracy and money laundering filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mamman, who was absent from court during the sentencing, was convicted in absentia, with the court ruling that his repeated failure to appear was a deliberate attempt to frustrate justice.
The judge held that the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015 empowered the court to proceed with sentencing despite the convict’s absence, stressing that Mamman could not claim denial of fair hearing.
Justice Omotosho sentenced the former minister to seven years imprisonment each on 10 counts without an option of fine, alongside additional jail terms on the remaining counts, bringing the total sentence to 75 years. The court ordered that the sentences run consecutively from the date of his arrest.
The court further ordered the final forfeiture of two high-value Abuja properties and multiple sums of money recovered from the former minister in different currencies.
Justice Omotosho ruled that Mamman must also refund the outstanding balance of the N22 billion proven to have been diverted from the power projects during the trial.
Delivering a scathing verdict, the judge condemned the former minister’s conduct, describing it as “shameful greed” and blaming such corruption for Nigeria’s prolonged electricity crisis.
“The defendant was living large at the expense of ordinary Nigerians,” the judge said.
“Rather than solving the nation’s epileptic power supply, he diverted funds meant for critical power projects into private pockets. Little wonder Nigeria has remained in darkness.”
The court held that the EFCC successfully proved beyond reasonable doubt that billions meant for the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Projects were siphoned through disguised transactions allegedly orchestrated by Mamman and his associates.
The EFCC had arraigned Mamman in July 2024 on a 12-count amended charge bordering on conspiracy and money laundering involving N33.8 billion.
Although he pleaded not guilty, the anti-graft agency called 17 witnesses and tendered 43 exhibits during the trial. Mamman, however, failed to call witnesses in his defence and instead filed a no-case submission, which the court dismissed.
Mamman served as Minister of Power under former President Muhammadu Buhari from August 2019 until his removal in September 2021.
