ABUJA, Nigeria — Sale Mamman, a former Minister of Power in Nigeria, was arrested and is currently being detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, according to multiple reliable sources.
His arrest took place on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at the Commission’s headquarters, signaling a significant development in an ongoing high-stakes corruption investigation.
The arrest is part of the Commission’s broader probe into alleged corruption related to the execution of several power projects, including the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydro Electric Power projects.
Mamman is believed to have colluded with staff members from the Ministry responsible for the projects’ accounts, diverting funds for personal gain.
“Significant amounts of money were reportedly shared amongst the conspirators,” an anonymous source close to the investigation revealed. “This is a classic case of power abuse, quite literally and figuratively.”
According to the same sources, the diverted funds were used to acquire various properties both in Nigeria and abroad, which have since been linked back to the suspects. Authorities have reportedly recovered substantial sums of money in both Naira and United States Dollars.
However, the full extent of the alleged corruption is yet to be publicly revealed. The scope of the investigation is wide-ranging, touching on various aspects of the power projects’ execution and the money trails left by the suspects.
Despite multiple attempts, the EFCC Spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached for comments regarding the arrest and the ongoing investigations. As the former minister’s arrest reverberates throughout the nation, it serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing battle against corruption in Nigeria’s public service.
The arrest of Mamman also underscores the Nigerian government’s continued commitment to transparency and its zero-tolerance policy towards corruption. As the investigation unfolds, the public eagerly awaits the full disclosure of the scale of the alleged corruption tied to the former Power Minister.
