Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has sentenced former Minister of Power under the Buhari administration, Saleh Mamman, to 75 years in prison for stealing public funds totalling about N33.8 billion.

Delivering judgment today in a case filed against Maaman by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the court convicted and sentenced him on all 12 counts of fraud and money laundering charges preferred against him by the commission.

Whereas he was handed seven years each on 10 counts of the charge, the court jailed him for three years and two years on counts four and five of the charge.

Justice Omotosho held that the sentence should run consecutively without the option of fine, except on count four, for which he allowed the payment of N10 million fine.

Furthermore, the court ordered the forfeiture of various foreign currencies that were recovered from the convict, as well as four choice properties in Abuja that were traced to him.

It will be recalled that the court had, on May 7, convicted the former minister in absentia. Justice Omotosho said he was satisfied that the anti-graft agency had successfully established the former Minister’s culpability beyond a reasonable doubt.

He convicted him on all grounds of the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/273/2024. The court found that he made a cash payment of $655,700 (equivalent to N200 million) for landed property in Abuja, without recourse to a financial institution.

He was also found guilty of criminal breach of trust in relation to funds released by the federal government for the Mambilla and Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant projects.

The court noted that most of the funds were siphoned through Bureau de Change operators (BDCs), who converted the money into foreign currencies and handed it over to the defendant.