- Remanded in Custody
By Abiola Olawale
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has commenced the process of presenting witnesses in the trial of a former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman.
The EFCC, on Wednesday, brought the Chief Security Officer and owner of Sami Court Resort Limited before Justice James Omotosho at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Presenting his evidence, the Chief Security Officer said that the former minister allegedly spent the sum of N20 million to lodge at Sami Court Resort for a year.
The EFCC alleged that the said N20m is part of the purported fund earmarked for the Mambilla Hydro Power project which was stolen.
Giving a breakdown of the lodging inflows from Mamman as contained in “Exhibit PWC,” the witness revealed that: “On September 6, 2021, the inflow was N5 million, deposited by Golden Bond Nigeria Limited for the period covering August 30, 2021, to August 30, 2022, and the name of the lodger is Engineer Saleh Mamman. The second column is on January 23, 2022, being a N5 million payment deposited by Mintedge Nigeria Limited to cover from August 30, 2021, to August 30, 2022.
“The third column is March 9, 2022, and the amount is N2,500,000 (Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira), payment by Abdullahi Suleiman, and it is to cover the period from August 30, 2021, to August 30, 2022, for Engineer Saleh Mamman. The last one is on May 10, 2022, and the amount is N7,500,000 (Seven Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira), deposited by A.I.J Global Tools Limited over the period covering August 30, 2021, to August 30, 2022, and the name of the lodger is Engineer Saleh Mamman.”
The witness further disclosed that the payments by Mamman were just for one-bedroom rental, all made through the resort’s UBA account.
“The documents are our invoice concerning payment for a one-bedroom rental from August 30, 2019, to August 30, 2020, and the amount is N20 million.
“This is our company’s invoice. We issued it after the payment of N20 million with respect to lodging and accommodation for Engineer Saleh Mamman,” he concluded.
Following cross-examination of the evidence presented by the witness, Justice Omotosho adjourned the case till January 13, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.
The New Diplomat reports that Mamman is facing serious allegations, encapsulated in a 12-count charge related to alleged money laundering, with the staggering sum involved amounting to N33,804,830,503.
According to the charge sheet, the anti-graft agency accused the former power minister of conspiring with other officials of his ministry and some private companies to indirectly convert N33.8bn of funds released for the Mambilla and Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant Projects by the Federal Government.
It would be recalled that Mamman served under former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2019 to 2021.
On May 10, 2021, he was arrested and detained at the headquarters of the anti-graft agency in Abuja.
Buhari, on September 1, 2021, sacked Mamman and the then Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, in what was termed as a cabinet reshuffle.
