EFCC arrests Saleh Mamman following his conviction and 75-year sentence, intensifying Nigeria’s anti-corruption enforcement drive
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested former Minister of Power Saleh Mamman in Kaduna State on Tuesday at about 3:30am, following his recent conviction and sentencing over corruption-related offences, according to the commission’s chairman Ola Olukoyede.
Also read: EFCC reacts to outrage over Lawan’s N135m donation
Ola Olukoyede confirmed the arrest while briefing journalists at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, stating that Saleh Mamman was apprehended in the Rigasa area of Kaduna after weeks of surveillance linked to efforts to enforce a court judgment already delivered against him.
EFCC detains Saleh Mamman days after Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja convicted the former minister on all 12 counts filed by the anti-graft agency and sentenced him in absentia to 75 years in prison.
The court had imposed seven-year sentences on ten counts, alongside additional custodial terms of three years and two years on counts four and five, with orders that the sentences run consecutively without the option of a fine, except on count four which carries a N10 million fine option.
Justice James Omotosho also ordered the forfeiture of foreign currencies recovered from the former minister as well as four properties in Abuja traced to him, describing the assets as proceeds linked to corruption.
Ola Olukoyede disclosed that the EFCC arrests Saleh Mamman operation was carried out in line with a directive that security agencies work with Interpol to ensure his capture, stressing that the commission believes the convict had been aided while evading custody.
According to the EFCC chairman, two individuals found with the former minister at the point of arrest were also taken into custody, while the owners of the property where he was allegedly sheltered are under investigation for suspected obstruction and harbouring a convict.
Olukoyede described the arrest as a strong signal of Nigeria’s renewed anti-corruption enforcement drive, insisting that no individual who has stolen public funds will escape justice regardless of status or location.
Also read: EFCC clears pastor Jerry Eze after fraud probe
EFCC arrests Saleh Mamman case continues to draw national attention as authorities move to enforce the court’s sentencing and recover assets linked to the former minister.
