BREAKING: Ex-Power Minister Bags 75-Year Jail Sentence Days After Picking Up APC Nomination Form

A Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, sentencing him to a combined 75-year prison term over a multi-billion naira money laundering and fraud case involving N33.8 billion.

The judgment followed months of legal proceedings initiated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which accused the former minister of diverting public funds and laundering huge sums while serving in office.

The conviction and subsequent sentencing took place just days after reports indicated he had picked up a nomination form for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho found Mamman guilty on all 12 charges filed against him by the anti-corruption agency.

The court imposed seven-year jail terms on 10 of the counts, while separate sentences of three years and two years were handed down on counts four and five respectively.

Justice Omotosho ruled that the prison terms would run consecutively, meaning the sentences would be served one after another rather than simultaneously. 

The judge also stated that the convict would not have the option of paying fines to avoid imprisonment, except for count four, where a N10 million fine was permitted.

“The offences before the court involved large-scale abuse of public trust and financial misconduct,” the judge said during the ruling.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the permanent forfeiture of several assets linked to the former minister.

Among the assets confiscated were foreign currencies recovered during the investigation and four high-value properties located in Abuja, which investigators said were acquired with proceeds traced to the illegal transactions.

EFCC prosecutors described the judgment as a major step in Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaign.

An official involved in the prosecution said the ruling “demonstrates that public office holders can be held accountable when found guilty of financial crimes.”

Mamman served as Minister of Power under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari before leaving office amid investigations into alleged financial irregularities in the power sector.