Saleh Mamman, Nigeria’s former minister of power under ex-president Muhammadu Buhari, has been sentenced in absentia to 75 years imprisonment after a federal high court in Abuja found him guilty of laundering more than N33.8bn linked to major electricity projects.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, James Omotosho held that prosecutors from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission proved all 12 charges against the former minister beyond reasonable doubt.
The court ruled that the prison terms would run consecutively rather than concurrently, resulting in a cumulative sentence of 75 years.
Mamman, who was absent during the judgment and sentencing proceedings, was convicted over allegations that he conspired with ministry officials and private firms to divert N33.8bn earmarked for public projects while serving as minister in 2019.
According to the EFCC, the funds were allegedly funnelled through Bureau De Change operators who converted large sums into foreign currencies before handing them to Mamman and his associates.
One of the charges accused the former minister of conspiring with an associate, Samson Bitrus, to make a cash payment of $665,700 for a property in Abuja outside the formal banking system, in breach of Nigeria’s money laundering laws.
Justice Omotosho sentenced Mamman to seven years imprisonment on 10 of the counts without the option of a fine. He was also handed a three-year sentence on one count with an option of a N10m fine, and an additional two-year jail term on another count.
The judge described the former minister’s absence from court as a deliberate attempt to obstruct the administration of justice and agreed with EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), that sentencing could lawfully proceed despite the defendant being absent.
Invoking provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, the court ordered Nigerian security agencies and Interpol to arrest Mamman wherever he is found and transfer him to the Nigerian Correctional Service to begin serving his sentence.
The court further ruled that the jail term would commence from the date of his arrest.
Justice Omotosho also ordered the final forfeiture of funds, foreign currencies and properties recovered during the investigation, including assets traced to the former minister in Abuja.
In addition, the court directed Mamman to refund the outstanding balance from the N22bn which prosecutors said had been diverted from funds allocated to the Mambilla and Zungeru hydroelectric power projects.
The former minister was first arraigned in July 2024 in a case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/273/2024 on charges bordering on conspiracy and money laundering involving N33.8bn.
Earlier this month, the court had convicted him in absentia and issued a warrant for his arrest after ruling that the EFCC had established his culpability beyond reasonable doubt.
