A Nigerian court docket on Wednesday sentenced former electrical energy minister Saleh Mamman to 75 years in jail after being discovered responsible of cash laundering of 33.8 billion naira ($24.71 million), the nation’s anti-corruption company introduced. That is an uncommon conviction for a corrupt official within the West African nation.
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal Excessive Court docket, Abuja, convicted Maman on all 12 costs introduced by the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC), the company stated in a submit on X.
The EFCC has charged Mamman with laundering N33.8 billion by means of personal firms, which prosecutors stated have been the proceeds of unlawful actions associated to government-funded hydropower initiatives, together with the Mambilla and Zungeru energy vegetation.
Mamman, who served as Minister of Energy in 2019, was discovered responsible in absentia beneath the legislation. The court docket ordered Nigerian and worldwide safety companies to arrest Mamman and hand him over to correctional authorities to serve his sentence.
Nigeria has lengthy grappled with high-profile corruption circumstances involving public servants, with the EFCC tasked with prosecuting monetary crimes. The Mamman case facilities on funds earmarked for crucial energy infrastructure initiatives in Africa’s most populous nation, the place energy shortages stay widespread.
