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Court Hears How Ex-Minister Saleh Mamman Fled Abuja in Taxi After ₦33.8bn Fraud Conviction
A court in Abuja hears how former Power Minister Saleh Mamman allegedly fled in a taxi after conviction in a ₦33.8bn fraud case, as he begins prison sentence.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, be transferred to the Kuje Correctional Centre after his conviction in a ₦33.8 billion fraud case involving public funds.
Mamman was sentenced on May 13 to 75 years in prison after being found guilty of multiple counts of fraud and money laundering and failing to appear in court for the final stage of his trial.
He was later apprehended in Kaduna State after jumping bail, despite earlier claims from his lawyers that his whereabouts were unknown.
At Tuesday’s hearing, a relative of the former minister, Shamsudeen Mohammed, testified that Mamman left Abuja in a taxi shortly after his conviction.
He told the court that the former minister escaped to Kaduna two days after the sentencing.
“I was helping him to take his traditional medicine. He was brought by taxi from Abuja to Kaduna,” the relative said, adding that Mamman was ill and needed medical care.
Mohammed also told the court he did not know the owner of the apartment where Mamman stayed in Rigasa, Kaduna State, describing it as a rented property.
“I don’t know the owner of the apartment. It was a rented one,” he said.
Mamman, who appeared visibly subdued in court, said he missed earlier proceedings due to ill health but his request for leniency was rejected by Justice James Omotosho.
“The sentence starts to run from today. You were in Abuja when the judgment was passed. You left alone in a taxi to Kaduna,” the judge ruled.
The court ordered the EFCC to remand him at the Kuje Correctional Centre to begin serving his sentence.
The EFCC also sought forfeiture of five properties allegedly linked to the former minister, including Walijam Apartments in Wuse 2, Bloom Luxury Suites in Kaduna, and other high-value properties in Abuja.
Justice Omotosho, however, adjourned the forfeiture hearing to allow Mamman secure legal representation and directed that he be served personally with the application.
The court also confirmed that Mamman received multiple sentences totaling 75 years, to run consecutively, along with an order to refund ₦22 billion tied to power project funds and forfeit several properties and recovered foreign currencies.
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