The Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately transfer the convicted former Minister of Power, Engr. Saleh Mamman, to the Nigerian Correctional Service facility in Kuje. The directive officially activates the cumulative 75-year prison sentence handed to him following a protracted multi-billion naira anti-graft prosecution.
The presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, issued the order after the anti-graft agency physically presented the former minister in court following his arrest in Kaduna State, where he had gone into hiding shortly before his formal sentencing.
The Flight to Rigasa and the Medical Defense
During the intense courtroom proceedings, the circumstances surrounding Mamman’s dramatic evasion of justice were laid bare. Justice Omotosho heard testimony from a relative of the convict, identified as Shamsudeen Mohammed, who was apprehended alongside the former minister by EFCC operatives.
Under questioning from the bench, Mohammed admitted that the former minister had left the Federal Capital Territory for Kaduna State via a commercial taxi only two days after his conviction on May 7, 2026.
“My name is Shamsudeen Mohammed. He is my relative,” the witness testified in open court. “He was sick and I was helping him to take his traditional medicine. He was brought by a taxi from Abuja to Kaduna.”
When pressed by Justice Omotosho regarding the ownership of the safehouse where the former minister was discovered by federal agents in the Rigasa area of Kaduna State, Mohammed stated, “I don’t know the owner of the apartment where he was staying. It was a rented one.”
Responding to the defense’s assertions that the former minister’s persistent absence from his trial was entirely a consequence of fluctuating health, Justice Omotosho remained unmoved, noting that the court had completed its evaluation of the evidence and that the sentence was legally active.
“The sentence starts to run from today. You were in Abuja when the judgment was passed. You left alone in a taxi to Kaduna. I have done my work. Today is the commencement of your sentence.”
— Justice James Omotosho, addressing the convict from the bench.
The 75-Year Sentencing Structure
To ensure the record was perfectly unambiguous to the convict, Justice Omotosho provided a comprehensive recap of the landmark May 7 conviction and the subsequent May 13 sentencing order, which had both been delivered in absentia under the strict provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
The former minister’s conviction on a 12-count amended charge brought by the EFCC carried severe, non-concurrent penalties due to the scale of the public trust violated. The breakdown of the consecutive custodial terms includes:
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Counts 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12: Seven years imprisonment on each count, to be served consecutively, without the option of a fine.
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Count 4: Three years imprisonment, with an attached option of a N10 million fine.
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Count 5: Two years imprisonment, without an option of a fine.
Because Justice Omotosho expressly ruled that the prison terms must be served consecutively rather than concurrently, the 68-year-old former minister faces an effective, cumulative sentence of 75 years behind bars.
Constitutional Fair Hearing and the Forfeiture Battle
The prosecution team, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), simultaneously moved a fresh consequential application dated May 25, 2026. The application seeks the final and absolute forfeiture to the Federal Government of five additional, high-value properties recently traced to Mamman.
The day’s proceedings took a procedural turn when it was revealed that Mamman’s lead defense counsel, Femi Atteh (SAN), was absent from the courtroom. A junior representative present in the court gallery declined to formally accept the prosecution’s fresh processes on behalf of the senior advocate. When questioned by the judge, Mamman admitted that he had been completely cut off from his legal representatives since his early-morning arrest by the EFCC on May 19.
Recognizing the constitutional necessity of a fair hearing, Justice Omotosho declined to grant the property forfeiture orders immediately. Instead, the judge directed that the fresh application be served directly onto Mamman within the correctional facility to give him ample opportunity to brief a legal team of his choice. The court subsequently adjourned the asset forfeiture aspect of the case to June 8, 2026.
