EFCC INVESTIGATOR SAYS FORMER POWER MINISTER MAMMAN GAVE VOLUNTARY STATEMENTS IN FRAUD CASE

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

An investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abubakar Kwaido, has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, voluntarily provided multiple confessional statements during his interrogation by the Commission.

Testifying in the ongoing trial-within-trial before Justice James Omotosho, Kwaido dismissed claims that Mamman’s statements were obtained under duress. He explained that the former minister gave his statements either in writing or by dictation and did so in the presence of his legal counsel or trusted associates, as confirmed by video evidence showing the accused smiling and interacting calmly during the sessions.

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Kwaido further noted that Mamman made the statements during several sessions between May and August 2023, each time accompanied by different lawyers or individuals. The EFCC insists that all procedures were conducted lawfully and transparently.

Mamman is being prosecuted on a 12-count charge bordering on conspiracy and money laundering amounting to ₦33.8 billion, linked to alleged mismanagement of funds related to the Mambilla Power Project.

While defence counsel Femi Atteh, SAN, argued that the confessional statements should be inadmissible due to alleged coercion, the court admitted them into evidence after hearing counterarguments from EFCC prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.

Justice Omotosho has adjourned the case to June 27, 2025, for continuation of cross-examination.