The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday sentenced former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, to 75 years’ imprisonment for diverting funds meant for Nigeria’s major hydropower projects.
The judge, James Omotosho, convicted and sentenced Mr Mamman on 12 counts of N33.8 billion fraud, imposing varying prison terms that he ordered to run consecutively.
The judge sentenced the convict to seven years’ imprisonment on counts 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, without an option of a fine.
Judge Omotosho also sentenced him to a three-year jail term on Count 4 with an option of a N10 million fine and two years’ imprisonment on Count 5 without an option of a fine.
In a rare show of toughness against a corrupt official, the judge ordered that the sentences attached to each of the 12 counts run consecutively, not concurrently. A concurrent term would have amounted to seven years’ imprisonment, the highest imposed for any of the counts.
