Court sends ex-power minister to prison over alleged N33.8 billion fraud

The Federal High Court in Abuja ordered, on Thursday, the remand of a former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, over the N33.8 billion money laundering case against him.

The court ordered his remand in Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja, after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned him on 12 money laundering charges.

Mr Mamman, who served as the Minister of Power from August 2019 till September 2021, when he was unceremoniously removed from office by President Muhammadu Buhari, denied all the charges read to him in court on Thursday.

Preparatory to the filing of the charges, the EFCC detained Mr Mamman in May 2023, about 20 months after his removal from office and less than three weeks before the end of Mr Buhari’s tenure.

On Thursday, the judge, James Omotosho, ordered Mamma’s remand in prison after he entered a not-guilty plea to all the 12 counts against him.

Defence lawyer Femi Ate, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), informed the judge that he already filed a bail application on behalf of his client.

EFCC’s prosecution counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, a SAN, acknowledged service of the bail application on him at about 12.30 p.m. on Thursday.

However, the judge, Mr Omotosho, said the application had yet to reach the court’s file.

Mr Ate then prayed to the court to allow him to return to argue the bail application on Friday.

The EFCC lawyer did not oppose the request.

The judge agreed to hear the bail application on Friday but ordered the ex-minister’s remand in Kuje prison.

Former minister’s ill health

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the arraignment earlier stalled on Thursday morning after his lawyer reported that Mr Mamman slumped within the court premises while waiting for the court session to commence.

The ex-minister walked into the courtroom and entered the dock with part of his clothes drenched when the matter was called in the morning.

When asked about his look by the judge, the defendant said water was poured on him, apparently to resuscitate him when he collapsed earlier.

The former minister explained that he collapsed outside the courtroom because of the drugs he took on an empty stomach. He also said his blood pressure dropped while waiting outside for his case to be called.

Mr Ate also said Mamman, “upon being brought into the premises of the court, collapsed and had to be resuscitated and treated by the medical personnel of the Federal High Court.”

He said his client was served with the charge after he was resuscitated.

The judge asked Mamman if he was fit enough to take his plea, and he responded in the affirmative.

He then postponed the arraignment till 1 p.m.

READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: How Nigeria’s power sector fared under former minister, Saleh Mamman

Mamman’s travails

NAN reports that the EFCC is prosecuting Mr Mamman on 12 counts of money laundering against Mr Mamman.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that his arrest in May last year was linked to alleged diversion of funds from the accounts dedicated to the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydro Electric Power Project during his stint as the minister.

This newspaper also reported that Mr Mamman was sacked alongside then Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Sabo Nanono, on 1 September 2021, in what the presidency described as a fallout of the president’s move to “reinvigorate this cabinet in a manner that will deepen its capacity to consolidate legacy achievements.”

Removal of ministers and appointees was generally a rarity during the administration of President Buhari.

On a few occasions when that happened, it involved massive infractions that were too weighty to overlook.

Curious members of the public had speculated that the reason for sacking Mr Mamman within two years of his appointment was likely to be more than cabinet reshuffling.

.(NAN)