A federal high court in Abuja convicted Saleh Mamman on Thursday on all 12 counts in a money laundering case brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The court also issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for judgment and deferred sentencing to May 13.
James Omotosho, the presiding judge, said the EFCC had established Mamman's culpability beyond a reasonable doubt. Mohammed Ahmed told the court that Mamman's whereabouts had remained unknown since the notice for the scheduled judgment was issued last Tuesday.
Mamman, who served as minister of power under Muhammadu Buhari from August 21, 2019, to September 1, 2021, was accused of conspiring with ministry officials and private companies in an alleged plan to indirectly convert N33.8 billion meant for the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects. He pleaded not guilty to charge FHC/ABJ/CR/273/2024 when the EFCC arraigned him in July 2024.
The prosecution called 17 witnesses and tendered 43 exhibits before closing its case. In the judgment, the court found him guilty of criminal breach of trust over funds released for the Mambilla and Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant projects, saying evidence showed he made a cash payment of $655,700, equivalent to N200 million, for landed property in Abuja without using a financial institution.
Omotosho said the prosecution's evidence was overwhelming against what he described as the scanty and almost absent defence of the defendant. He added that Mamman did not offer credible evidence to rebut the case, and said he had been living large at the expense of ordinary citizens rather than building a legacy to fix the country's epileptic power supply. The judge said Nigerians had remained in darkness till today, a line that captured how closely the case is tied to the failures of the power sector Mamman once led.
The conviction closes one stage of a case that has moved from allegation to trial to judgment. The next decisive moment now is sentencing, but the arrest warrant means the former minister must be brought before the court before that can happen.
