Alleged 33.8bn fraud: Former Power Minister alleges involuntary statement, as Court orders trial within trial
A former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, has alleged that he was coerced into making confessions while at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) office.
This claim was raised by his defence counsel, Femi Atte, SAN.
Following this objection, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, 19 March 2025, adjourned Mamman’s trial to 7, 10, 14 April and 2 May 2025 for a separate trial to assess the admissibility of his statements.
The court ruled that the dispute over the voluntariness of his confession, along with other objections raised by the defence, necessitated a trial within a trial to determine their validity.
“Accordingly, I hereby order a trial within a trial to establish whether the statements were given voluntarily or under duress,” the judge stated.
Mamman is currently facing prosecution by the EFCC in relation to the Mambilla Power Project. He has been charged with 12 counts, including conspiracy to launder money amounting to ¦ 33,804,830,503.73 (Thirty-Three Billion, Eight Hundred and Four Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty Thousand, Five Hundred and Three Naira, Seventy-Three Kobo).
An investigator with the EFCC, identified as the Seventeenth Prosecution Witness (PW17), Abubakar, testified that in 2023, his team received intelligence indicating that funds allocated for the Mambilla Power Project were being misappropriated for private use. This prompted an immediate investigation.
“We conducted extensive inquiries involving commercial banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Corporate Affairs Commission. Our findings revealed that over ten company accounts were being used in connection with bureau de change operators, including Breathable Investment, Fullest Utility Concepts, and Golden Bond Nigeria Ltd,” he explained.
“Our analysis of account transactions exposed that more than ¦ 26 billion was diverted from the Ministry of Power into bureau de change operators’ accounts under the directives of the defendant and his associates. Upon uncovering this, we summoned the defendant. He voluntarily appeared, provided statements in the presence of his legal counsel, and our team documented these statements,” Abubakar added.
He confirmed that Mamman’s statements were taken voluntarily in the presence of his lawyer on multiple dates—20 February, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17 May, and 3 and 9 August 2024.
The prosecution sought to submit the defendant’s statements as evidence, but the defence opposed this, arguing that the statement recorded on 20 February 2024 was obtained under duress. The defence alleged that Mamman was threatened and forced to provide self-incriminating statements against his will.
During the session, the Fifteenth Prosecution Witness (PW15), Okoafor Chinyere Nnenna, a Deputy Manager in Domestic Payments at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), testified that her department received an EFCC request for details regarding the Ministry of Power’s accounts.
“In response, our unit compiled a report, attached it to an official CBN cover letter, and submitted it to the Commission on 3 April 2024. This was duly signed by my director,” she disclosed.
She further explained that all government payments follow a strict process requiring physical authorisation.
The Sixteenth Prosecution Witness (PW16), Veronica Asmau Sampam, a compliance coordinator for First Bank in Northern Nigeria, testified that the EFCC requested details in October 2024 concerning the financial records of Idris Musbahu.
She stated that the bank provided the Commission with the requested statements, account opening documents, and additional records obtained from its database.
