The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, who was recently convicted and sentenced by the Federal High Court in Abuja for financial misappropriation during his tenure in office.

EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, confirmed on Tuesday that Mamman was arrested at about 3:30 a.m.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you will recall that sometime in January 2025, we filed charges against the former Minister of Power for allegedly converting over ₦33 billion meant for the Mambilla and Zungeru power projects,” Olukoyede said during a press briefing.

“About 14 to 15 months later, specifically on the 7th of this month, we secured convictions on all 12 counts. Because the defendant was not present, the issue of sentencing was deferred. On the 13th of this month, he was sentenced in absentia.

“Since then, we expanded our intelligence surveillance operations in search of him. I am happy to announce to Nigerians that at about 3:30 a.m. this morning, we arrested Mr. Saleh Mamman somewhere in Kano.”

Mamman was arrested alongside two other individuals, whom the anti-graft agency accused of harbouring and protecting a convicted person.

“We discovered that he had actually been protected all this while,” Olukoyede added.

The EFCC chairman also disclosed that the commission would investigate the house where the former minister was arrested.

Olukoyede described the arrest as “a testament to the commitment of the Federal Government of Nigeria to the fight against corruption”.

“It is to assure Nigerians that anyone who has taken government or national resources will not go unpunished, and the eagle eye of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will always catch up with you wherever you are hiding,” he said.

The Federal High Court convicted Mamman on all 12 counts filed against him by the EFCC. On May 13, he was sentenced in absentia to a cumulative 75 years’ imprisonment over ₦33.8 billion in money laundering offences linked to the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects.

The trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, ordered that the sentences should run consecutively, bringing the total prison term to 75 years.

Justice Omotosho held that Mamman’s absence from court on the day of sentencing, as well as on the previous adjourned date, was a deliberate attempt to frustrate the administration of justice.

The court sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment on Counts 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 without the option of a fine.

Mamman was also sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on Count 4, with an option of a ₦10 million fine, and two years’ imprisonment on Count 5 without the option of a fine.

Justice Omotosho further directed all security agencies to liaise with Interpol to ensure Mamman’s arrest.