• Saleh Mamman
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday convicted a former Minister of Power, Mr Saleh Mamman, of 12 counts of fraud and money laundering, charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mamman, who served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, was found complicit in the illegal diversion of public funds totalling about ₦33.8 billion.
In a judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho, the court said that it was satisfied that the anti-graft agency had successfully established the former Minister’s culpability beyond reasonable doubts.
The court convicted him on all grounds of the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/273/2024.
The court found that he made a cash payment of $655,700 (equivalent to ₦200 million) for landed property in Abuja, without recourse to a financial institution.
Mamman was also found guilty of criminal breach of trust in relation to funds released by the federal government for the Mambilla and Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant projects.
The court noted that most of the funds were siphoned through Bureau de Change operators (BDCs), who converted the money into foreign currencies and handed it over to the defendant.
Meanwhile, the defendant was absent when he was convicted by the court.Consequently, the court deferred his sentence, even as the EFCC applied for a warrant of arrest to be issued against him.
