Ex-Power Minister Mamman Jailed Seventy-Five Years for ₦33.8bn Fraud

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, to seventy-five years in prison for money laundering and the diversion of public funds totalling about thirty-three point eight billion naira.

Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho found the former minister guilty on all twelve counts filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), holding that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The court ruled that the sentences shall run consecutively, with no option of fine on most counts.

Mamman, who served under former President Muhammadu Buhari, was sentenced to seven years on ten counts, three years on one count with an option of a ten million naira fine, and two years on another count without an option of fine. The judge also ordered the forfeiture of recovered funds, foreign currencies, and properties linked to the convict.

The court further directed that Mamman, who was tried in absentia, be arrested wherever found and handed over to the Nigerian Correctional Service to serve his sentence, which is to commence upon arrest. Justice Omotosho noted that his absence was a deliberate attempt to frustrate justice.