The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested former minister of power Saleh Mamman in the Rigasa area of Kaduna State after weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering.
The commission said in a statement on Tuesday that Mamman was arrested in the early hours of the day after allegedly going into hiding following his conviction by the Federal High Court in Abuja on corruption charges.
Speaking to journalists, EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede said Justice James Omotosho convicted Mamman on May 7 on 12 counts related to the diversion of funds meant for the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects.
“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,” he said.
Mr Olukoyede added the commission considered it important that the former minister serve his sentence.
“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,” he said.
In his judgment, Justice Omotosho held that the EFCC established that Mamman and his associates diverted at least N22 billion meant for critical power projects.
The judge said the defence failed to present credible evidence capable of weakening the prosecution’s case and described the diversion of public funds meant for the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric projects as a gross abuse of public trust.
According to the judgment, Mamman used proxy companies and associates to divert and benefit from funds meant for national infrastructure projects.
Mamman served as minister of power between 2019 and 2021 under the late former President Muhammadu Buhari and oversaw major hydroelectric projects including the Mambilla and Zungeru projects.
Following his conviction, the court ordered that he be produced for sentencing on May 13, 2026, but he failed to appear in court.
Justice Omotosho later 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 N10 million fine and two years imprisonment on count 5 without an option of fine.
The court ordered that the sentences run consecutively, bringing the total jail term to 75 years.
Mamman is also facing another corruption trial before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja over alleged N31 billion fraud.
On May 11, Justice Maryanne Anenih issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for proceedings in the case involving him and seven others.
