The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, to 75 years in prison for stealing public funds totalling about N33.8 billion.
The court, in the judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho, convicted and sentenced him on all 12 counts of fraud and money laundering charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Whereas he was handed seven years each on 10 counts, the court jailed him for three years and two years on counts four and five. The judge held that the sentence should run consecutively without the option of fine except on count four, for which he allowed a N10 million fine.
The court further ordered the forfeiture of various foreign currencies recovered from the convict, as well as four choice properties in Abuja traced to him.
The court had on May 7 convicted the former minister in absentia. Justice Omotosho said he was satisfied that the anti-graft agency had successfully established the former minister’s culpability beyond reasonable doubt.
Mamman served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. The court found that he made a cash payment of $655,700 for landed property in Abuja without recourse to a financial institution, and was also found guilty of criminal breach of trust in relation to funds released for the Mambilla and Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant projects.
“The evidence of the prosecution is overwhelming as against the scanty and almost absent defence of the defendant. The defendant did not offer any credible evidence to rebut the prosecution’s case,” Justice Omotosho held.
The judge decried that the defendant, as Minister of Power, was not bothered about leaving a lasting legacy. “Rather than creating a legacy to tackle the epileptic power supply in the country, the defendant was living large at the expense of ordinary citizens. Little wonder that Nigerians have remained in darkness till today,” he added.
The defendant, who was absent when he was convicted, was also not present when the sentence was passed. The court had issued a warrant for his arrest. After the sentencing, Justice Omotosho ordered all security agencies to liaise with Interpol to ensure the arrest of the convict, and held that the sentence should start running from the day of his arrest.
