ABUJA, May 13 – A Nigerian court on Wednesday sentenced former power minister Saleh Mamman to 75 years in prison after convicting him of laundering 33.8 billion naira ($24.71 million), the country’s anti-graft agency said, a rare conviction against corrupt officials in the West African nation.
* Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Mamman after finding him guilty on all 12 counts filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the agency said in a post on X.
* The EFCC charged Mamman with laundering 33.8 billion naira through private companies, funds that prosecutors said were proceeds of unlawful activity linked to government-financed hydroelectric projects, including the Mambilla and Zungeru power plants.
* Mamman, who served as minister of power in 2019, was sentenced in absentia under the law. The court ordered Nigerian and international security agencies to arrest Mamman and hand him over to correctional authorities to serve his sentence.
* Nigeria has long grappled with high-profile corruption cases involving public officials, with the EFCC tasked with prosecuting financial crimes. The Mamman case centers on funds meant for critical power infrastructure projects in Africa’s most populous nation, where electricity shortages remain widespread. REUTERS
