EFCC Arrests Ex-Power Minister, Saleh Mamman, after Alleged Escape Following N22Bn Fraud Conviction

Pat Stevens/

Former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, has been arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after allegedly going into hiding following his conviction over the diversion of billions of naira earmarked for critical electricity projects.

The anti-graft agency said Mamman was tracked down and arrested in the Rigasa area of Kaduna State in the early hours of Tuesday after weeks of intelligence-led surveillance aimed at locating the ex-minister.

The minister had reportedly vanished after a Federal High Court in Abuja convicted him on corruption charges linked to the controversial Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects.

Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, said the former minister’s arrest marked a major breakthrough in the commission’s determination to ensure convicted public officials do not evade punishment.

According to him, Justice James Omotosho had on May 7 found Mamman guilty on all 12 counts filed against him after ruling that prosecutors proved beyond reasonable doubt that massive public funds meant for strategic power infrastructure were diverted.

Olukoyede said the court convicted Mamman in absentia after the former minister allegedly disappeared during the trial process.

“For us, getting the convict to serve his jail terms is extremely important in view of the seriousness with which we are tackling corrupt practices,” the EFCC boss said.

“It is this resolve that made us deploy intelligence to tracking and arresting the convict. We will process his transmission to the Correctional Centre accordingly.”

The court had held that the EFCC successfully established that no fewer than N22 billion meant for the execution of the Zungeru and Mambilla hydropower projects was siphoned through proxy companies and associates allegedly linked to the former minister.

Justice Omotosho reportedly described the diversion of funds meant for critical national infrastructure as a “gross abuse of public trust”, warning that corruption in the power sector had continued to cripple Nigeria’s electricity development and economic growth.

Mamman, who served as Minister of Power under former President Muhammadu Buhari between 2019 and 2021, oversaw some of Nigeria’s most ambitious electricity projects during his tenure, including the long-delayed Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.

Following his conviction, the court ordered that he be produced for sentencing on May 13.

However, he failed to appear, prompting the court to proceed with sentencing in his absence and issue orders for his arrest.

Justice Omotosho subsequently handed the former minister multiple prison terms totalling 75 years after ordering that the sentences run consecutively.

Mamman’s legal troubles are also far from over.
Apart from the conviction that led to his arrest, the former minister is currently facing another corruption case before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja over an alleged N31 billion fraud.

In that separate case, Justice Maryanne Anenih had earlier issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear in court alongside seven other defendants.