By Peter Effiom
In July 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged former Nigerian Minister of Power Saleh Mamman with 12 revised counts of money laundering and conspiracy, alleging that he had diverted N33.8 billion.
Saleh Mamman was found guilty on 12 counts of fraud and money laundering. A Federal High Court in Abuja condemned him to 75 years in prison in absentia. The judge mandated that the sentences associated with each of the twelve offenses be served consecutively.
The hydroelectric power projects in Zungeru and Mambilla were implicated in the scam. Mamman was convicted of misappropriating money meant for the hydroelectric power projects when he was in office from 2019 to 2021.
On May 7, Justice James Omotosho found him guilty in absentia of all 12 counts of corruption and money laundering regarding funds connected to the two government power projects after he fled and missed his trial.
The court ordered the permanent forfeiture of all recovered funds and other properties linked to him to the federal authorities. Additionally, he was mandated to reimburse the remaining amount of the money that had been diverted.
Days after his conviction, in the early hours of May 19, EFCC agents located and detained the former Minister in the Rigasa region of Kaduna State.
Justice James Omotosho ordered his transfer to the Nigeria Correctional Center in Kuje, Abuja, to begin his sentence after he was apprehended and appeared in court.
One of Nigeria’s largest electrical projects, the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State, is anticipated to increase power in the country.
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