By Nasidi Musa
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a former Energy Minister, Sale Mamman, over an alleged embezzlement of N22 billion, Newslodge can report.
EFCC sources, familiar with the case but unable to speak publicly, told this newspaper that Mamman was detained on Wednesday morning after turning himself in at the commission office in Abuja.
Mamman served as Minister of Energy from August 2019 to September 2021, when President Muhammadu Buhari unceremoniously ousted him.
Providing information about the case against Mr. Mamman, the sources said that he allegedly conspired with Ministry of Energy officials during his term as minister siphoned off N22 billion and shared it between them.
“From 2017 to date, the former Energy Minister conspired with other Ministry staff in charge of the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydropower Project accounts, diverted more than N22 billion Naira and divided it among themselves,” one said. fountain.
The sources said: “Investigations have led to the tracing and identification of properties in Nigeria and abroad, as well as the recovery of millions of Naira and USD.”
Investigations are still ongoing into the matter, the sources said.
They added that the suspects linked to the case would soon be charged in court.
Mamman was sacked along with then-Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Mohammed Sabo Nanono in what the presidency described as a consequence of the president’s move to “reinvigorate this cabinet in a way that deepens its ability to consolidate legacy achievements “.
The removal of ministers and appointees is generally a rarity under the outgoing administration of President Buhari.
On a few occasions when that happened, it involved massive breaches that were too significant to ignore.
Curious members of the public had speculated that the reason for sacking Mamman within two years of his appointment was likely more than a cabinet reshuffle.
Newslodge had reported that the minister’s time in office was marked by poor power supply that has improved slightly since his dismissal.
His arrest on Wednesday comes some 20 months after he was ousted and less than three weeks before the end of Buhari’s term.
He was still in EFCC custody at the time of filing this report on Wednesday night.
