Former Power Minister Faces Arrest as Court Revokes Bail
A Federal Capital Territory High Court has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of former Minister of Power Saleh Mamman following his repeated failure to appear before the court, escalating one of Nigeria’s most significant public finance fraud cases currently before the judiciary.
Justice Maryann Anineh of the FCT High Court revoked Mamman’s bail on Monday and directed his immediate arrest, citing his continued absence from proceedings without satisfactory explanation, according to court records.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Mamman alongside seven other defendants on a nine count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, and the alleged diversion of approximately N31 billion in public funds. The case forms part of the EFCC’s broader effort to prosecute suspected financial crimes traced to the power sector under the immediate past administration.
Addressing the court, EFCC prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo stated that Mamman had no valid justification for his repeated absence from proceedings, including on a day the former minister was separately convicted at the Federal High Court in Abuja. “The defendant was absent without any justification from his counsel,” Oyedepo told the court, according to proceedings monitored by journalists covering the case. He further clarified his position on the matter, stating, “I do not hold the brief of the first defendant, so it is not my duty to inform the court of his whereabouts.”
Defence counsel Femi Atteh countered that the burden of producing the defendant rested with the prosecution, particularly given that a bench warrant had already been issued by another court. Justice Anineh, however, rejected that position and proceeded to revoke the bail and issue a fresh warrant.
“The bail of the defendant is hereby revoked, and a bench warrant is issued for his arrest,” the court held, according to proceedings reported by Nigerian news outlets covering the trial.
The court additionally ruled that the trial would proceed in Mamman’s absence, invoking the relevant provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) of 2015, which permits criminal trials to continue where a defendant’s absence is deemed deliberate or unjustified.
The case has been adjourned to May 14 for continuation of trial.
Mamman served as Minister of Power under former President Muhammadu Buhari and has been at the centre of allegations involving the mismanagement of public funds earmarked for Nigeria’s chronically underfunded electricity sector. The EFCC, established under the EFCC Act of 2004, has been intensifying its prosecution of high profile financial crimes cases involving former government officials.
The development draws fresh public attention to concerns over accountability in Nigeria’s power sector, which has received hundreds of billions of naira in government investment over successive administrations without a corresponding improvement in electricity supply to millions of Nigerians.
The outcome of the proceedings on May 14 is expected to determine the next direction of the case.