A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, granted the Former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman bail of N10 billion with two sureties contributing the same amount.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has filed 12 counts of money laundering against Mamman totalling N33 billion.
Justice James Omotosho’s ruling for the court said that the sureties had to be owners of landed properties within the Federal Capital Territory, valued at least N750 million.
In addition to requiring the sureties to submit an affidavit of means and their three-year tax clearance certificates, the court also mandated that the defendant and the sureties provide certified copies of their bank statements along with their most recent passport photos.
Alternatively, the court allowed the sureties to present a N10 billion bank guarantee or bond.
The court mandated that the defendant turn over his international passport to the court’s Registrar, who will need to confirm all the paperwork before the defendant is released from custody.
Omotosho ordered that the defendant be held in prison custody until all bail requirements were fulfilled.
The court then postponed the hearing till September 25, 2024.
Mamman pleaded on Thursday after his attorney, Femi Ate (SAN), told the court that a bail application had been filed after the matter was stood down, but the judge stated that it was not yet in the court file. The judge then remanded the former minister in prison custody to hear his application today (Friday).
After reading the 12 charges that the EFCC had brought against him, Mamman pleaded not guilty.
The provisions of Sections 35 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as Sections 158 and 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015, were the basis for the ex-minister’s bail application, dated July 11, 2024.
The defendant informed the court that he had been placed on administrative bail for more than two years and that he had never violated any of the conditions from the anti-graft agency.
He promised to always be available for his trial and requested that the court would use its discretion in his favour.
Additionally, he assured the court that he would not interfere with or influence any of the witnesses scheduled to testify against him in the case and that he had trustworthy people standing surety for him.
The EFCC requested that the court impose conditions that would require the defendant to appear at his trial, but it did not oppose to the defendant’s plea for bail through its attorney, Mr. A. O. Mohammed.
Mamman, a member of the former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, was taken into custody in 2021, about four months following his dismissal.
Among other things, the EFCC claimed that he plotted with ministry staff to divert about N22 billion intended for the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydro Electric Power projects.
The anti-graft agency claimed that the results of its investigations showed the suspects utilised the money to acquire choice assets both within and outside the country.
