Court sentences former Power Minister Saleh Mamman to 75 years in prison for fraud

Former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, has been convicted by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to spend 75 years behind bars over money laundering and fraud cases worth N33.8 billion.

Mamman was convicted on all 12 charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He was given seven years for each of the ten charges and three years and two years respectively for the fourth and fifth charges.

Justice James Omotosho ruled that the sentence will be served sequentially without the possibility of paying a fine except on the fourth charge, where a fine of N10 million is an alternative.

The court further ordered the confiscation of the foreign exchange seized from the convict along with four luxurious buildings in Abuja traced to him.

The EFCC arraigned the ex-minister in July 2024 on 12 counts relating to money laundering and conspiracy against the officials of the ministry as well as private firms for the purpose of indirectly converting the amount of N33.8 billion which was supposed to fund the development of the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric projects.

Mamman pleaded not guilty to the charge filed against him under FHC/ABJ/CR/273/2024.

EFCC had brought 17 witnesses to testify in court while 43 exhibits were tendered before the case closed in the court.

On May 7, 2024, Mamman was convicted in absentia.

The presiding judge held that he had convinced himself that the anti-corruption body had managed to establish beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the ex-minister of mines and steel.

The judge also issued a warrant of arrest for Mamman.

According to Mohammed Ahmed who made an appearance for the convict on behalf of Mamman, he did not know where the convict is currently residing and that calls made to his numbers failed to go through.

Following the conviction, Justice Omotosho instructed all law enforcement agencies to coordinate efforts with Interpol to arrest the convict.

The sentence would commence to run from the date of his arrest.