Following a court directive ordering his arrest, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a fleeing former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, in the Rigasa area of Kaduna State.
The EFCC disclosed that Mamman was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday after weeks of intensive surveillance and intelligence gathering by operatives of the Commission.
ThelensNG reports that Mamman was sentenced to 75 years imprisonment over corruption and diversion of public funds linked to the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Speaking on the arrest, the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, revealed that the former minister went underground after he was convicted by the court on corruption charges.
“On May 7, 2026, Justice James Omotosho found Mamman guilty on all 12 counts bordering on diversion of funds meant for the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects. The court convicted him in absentia after agreeing with the Commission that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt,” Olukoyede said.
“For us, getting the convict to serve his jail terms is extremely important in view of the seriousness with which we are tackling corrupt practices. It is this resolve that made us deploy intelligence to tracking and arresting the convict. We will process his transmission to the Correctional Centre accordingly.”
Justice Omotosho, in his judgment, held that the EFCC successfully established that Mamman and his associates diverted no fewer than ₦22 billion meant for the execution of critical power projects. The court further held that the defence failed to present credible evidence capable of discrediting the prosecution’s case.
The judge condemned the diversion of public funds earmarked for the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric projects, describing the act as a gross abuse of public trust. He also noted that the convict used proxy companies and associates to siphon and benefit from funds meant for critical national infrastructure.
Mamman, who served as Minister of Power between 2019 and 2021 under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, supervised Nigeria’s power sector and major hydroelectric projects, including the Mambilla and Zungeru power projects.
Following his conviction, the court ordered that he be arrested and produced before it on May 13, 2026, for sentencing. However, Mamman failed to appear in court on the scheduled date, prompting the court to proceed with sentencing in his absence.
Justice Omotosho subsequently sentenced Mamman to seven years imprisonment each on Counts 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 without an option of fine. He was also sentenced to three years imprisonment on Count 4 with an option of a ₦10 million fine, and two years imprisonment on Count 5 without an option of fine.
The court further ordered that the sentences run consecutively, bringing the total jail term to 75 years.
The anti-graft agency also disclosed that Mamman is facing another corruption trial before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja over an alleged ₦31 billion fraud.
