FORMER Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, who was charged for a N33 billion fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been granted bail.

During a sitting on Friday, July 12, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Mamman was granted N10 billion billion with two sureties in like sum.

Issuing the verdict, the chief judge, James Omotosho, held that the sureties must be owners of landed properties within the Federal Capital Territory with a minimum valuation of N750 million.

The judge stated that the sureties must swear an affidavit of means and submit their three-year tax clearance certificates, adding that certified copies of the defendant and sureties’ bank statements and their most recent passport photograph must also be submitted.

In addition, the judge directed the defendant to turn in his international passport to the court’s registrar, stating that the registrar must confirm every document before the defendant is allowed to leave custody.

The court further ordered that the defendant be held in jail until all bail requirements were fulfilled and that the sureties could provide a bank guarantee or bond of N10 billion. The case has been adjourned until September 25, 2024.

On Thursday, July 11, the judge ordered the remand of the former minister at the Kuje Prison after his not-guilty plea to all the 12-count charges preferred against him. His lawyer, Femi Ate, a senior advocate, however, told the court that a bail application had been filed on behalf of his client.

Although the judge stated the bail application had not yet made it into the court file, the lawyer representing the EFCC, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, also a senior advocate, admitted that the application had been received.

Meanwhile, the defendant had collapsed outside the courtroom before the hearing on Thursday but was revived with the help of his lawyers and some medical personnel at the court.

Nigeria’s power sector has ranked poorly on the global scale. According to the World Bank 2020 business report, Nigeria ranks 171 out of 190 countries in getting electricity and electricity access is seen as one of the major constraints for development.

Although there have been several attempts to address the situation, some of these efforts have been hampered by corruption.

The ICIR reports that in January, EFCC arraigned a former minister of power and steel development, Olu Agunloye, before a High Court in Abuja over alleged $ 6 billion fraud.

The former minister in September 2023, was accused by former President Olusegun Obasanjo of mismanaging the Mambilla power project during his tenure, alleging that he fraudulently awarded the project contract without the approval of the federal executive council.