EFCC Arrests Saleh Mamman in Early Morning Raid Following 75-Year Prison Verdict

Former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, has been arrested by Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency in Kaduna State weeks after he was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 75 years imprisonment over fraud-related offences.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) disclosed that Mamman was apprehended around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday in the Rigasa area of Kaduna.
Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, confirmed the development while addressing journalists at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. According to him, two other individuals found with the former minister at the property were also arrested and are being investigated for allegedly sheltering a convicted person.
Olukoyede stated that investigations revealed Mamman had been receiving protection while evading arrest.
“The eagle eye of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will always catch up with you wherever you are hiding,” he said.
Mamman was convicted on May 7 after the court found him guilty on all 12 counts filed against him by the EFCC. Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced him in absentia to seven years imprisonment each on 10 counts, three years on one count, and two years on another count.
The court ordered that the sentences run consecutively without the option of a fine, except for one count which carries a ₦10 million fine.
The court also directed the forfeiture of foreign currencies recovered from the former minister, alongside four Abuja properties linked to him. Security agencies were further instructed to collaborate with Interpol to ensure his arrest, with the sentence taking effect from the date of apprehension.
Olukoyede described the arrest as proof of the Federal Government’s determination to sustain the fight against corruption.
“This is a test of the commitment of the federal government of Nigeria to the fight against corruption in Nigeria, and to assure Nigerians that anyone who has pilfered government national resources will not go unpunished,” he stated.
Mamman served as Nigeria’s Minister of Power between 2019 and 2021 and is currently in EFCC custody.