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Alleged ₦33.8bn Fraud: Ex-Power Minister Paid in Dollars for Abuja Property — EFCC Witness

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1 year ago

March 6, 2025

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Former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman. Credit: X/@EngrSMamman

A witness, Mohammed Jidda presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the trial of former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, on Wednesday, told a Federal High Court, Abuja presided over by Justice James Omotosho, that the former minister paid him a dollar equivalent of N200 million in cash for the purchase of a five-bedroom property in Wuse, Abuja.

Mamman is being prosecuted by the EFCC in relation to the Mambilla Power Project on a 12-count charge, bordering on conspiracy to commit money laundering to the tune of N33.8bn.

A statement signed by the commission’s Head, Media & Publicity, Dele Oyewale on X, said Jidda, a businessman and initial owner of the five-bedroom property, located at No. 12a & b Lungi Street, Wuse 2, Abuja while being led in evidence by a prosecution witness, Rotimi Oyedep (SAN), disclosed that Mamman came to his office on Gimbya Street, Garki, Abuja and paid him the dollar equivalent of N200 million in cash for the property.

“The minister came to my office with Mohammed Hussein and two other persons to pay me the money. We discussed that they would bring naira, but they came with dollars. We counted the money and gave them the property. The document was signed between my company Mohibat Investment Limited and Mohammed Hussein as instructed by the minister. First, Bitrus told me that it was the minister that was buying the property. The minister was the one who instructed me to sign with Mohammed Hussein,” he said.

The statement said the witness identified and confirmed his extra-judicial statement in the EFCC and the deed of agreement when they were shown to him, following which they were tendered and admitted in evidence as PWd1 and PW d2, respectively.

Samson Bitrus, Prosecuting Witness, PW12, and a real estate agent in his testimony disclosed that he was the agent that aided Mamman in the purchase of the said property, the EFCC’s statement said.

EFCC also quoted Bitrus as saying that he was introduced to Mamman by his business associate, Alhaji Dan Daura and that sometime in 2019, the former minister asked him to source for a property for him and to ensure thorough a check that any property he picked had no encumbrances.

“After the search, we met the owner of the property and concluded the transaction by paying the purchase price. The property was at No 12 Lungi Street, Wuse 2. The name of the seller is Jidda. When we went to the seller’s place, the ex-minister came with his friend, I think his name is Mohammed Hussein. The purchase price was N200 million and the defendant paid with dollars. “The property owner received the money and counted it to confirm that it was complete. When we concluded the transaction, I cannot remember if the documents were signed that day, but the property was taken over with existing tenants in it,” he said.

Bitrus confirmed managing the property for Mamman after the purchase and collecting the rent and remitting into the account provided by Mamman.”

Prosecution Witness PW13, Umar Abbatilde, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank plc, in his own testimony, disclosed that he received a request from the EFCC asking for the account opening package, statement of account and certificate of identification of account belonging to Samson Bitrus which he said, he made available to the Commission.

While confirming the transactions on Bitrus’ account, he revealed that there was an inflow of N5.5 million from Firststar Limited on June 26, 2020, and an immediate outflow to Mamman Nasir Ademu on the same day.

Furthermore, he disclosed that there was an inflow of N6 million into the account on August 11, 2022 from Vestates Limited and an outflow of N5 million to Mamman Nasir Ademu.

On September 14, 2022, he said that there was an inflow of N10 million from Peter Adogbejire Mrakpor Sam & Partners and on the same day, a N3, 750,000 outflow from the same source.

On September 24, 2022, he said that there was an inflow of N10 million into the account and an additional N2.5 million, all from the same source.

According to him, the inflow continued on October 25, 2022, with N3 million from Mohammed Saleh Jemilah. As of November 2, 2022, the balance on Bitrus’ account he said, was N26,964.75 before it was depleted on the same day with an outflow of N10 million to Mamman’s UBA account and further depleted on November 3, 2022, and November 4, 2022 with an outflow of N4 million and N2.8 million, respectively to Mamman’s account.

Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter till March 18 & 19, 2025 for further hearing.

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International News

Israel Says Struck Two Naval Missile Production Sites In Tehran

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2 hours ago

March 25, 2026

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The Israeli military announced on Wednesday it had struck two naval cruise missile production facilities operating under Iran’s ministry of defence in Tehran.

“In recent days, the Israeli air force acting on IDF intelligence struck two key naval cruise missile production sites in Tehran,” the military said.

It said the facilities were used to “develop and manufacture long-range naval cruise missiles, which are capable of rapidly destroying targets at sea and on land”.

The strikes “represent another step in deepening the damage done to the regime’s military production infrastructure”, the military added.

Last week, the military announced its fighter jets had struck several Iranian naval ships in the Caspian Sea, including vessels equipped with anti-submarine missiles.

AFP

International News

2025 ‘Deadliest Year’ Yet For Red Sea Migrants, UN Reports 922 Deaths

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2 hours ago

March 25, 2026

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The number of migrants who died on the “Eastern Route” from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula doubled to a record high of 922 last year, the UN migration agency said Wednesday.

Tens of thousands of migrants from Ethiopia, Somalia and neighbouring countries take the route across the Red Sea each year, mostly from Djibouti to Yemen, in search of work as labourers or domestic workers in wealthy Gulf countries.

“2025 was the deadliest year ever recorded on the Eastern migration route… with 922 people dead or missing — double the number from the previous year,” Tanja Pacifico, head of mission for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Djibouti, told AFP.

The majority of victims were from Ethiopia, the second most-populous country in Africa with more than 130 million people. It is plagued by multiple internal conflicts and deep poverty.

“IOM remains fully committed to working alongside the government of Djibouti to promote safe and dignified migration pathways, in order to prevent further tragedies,” said Pacifico.

Many migrants who cross the Red Sea find themselves stuck in Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, which has been embroiled in a civil war for nearly a decade, and some even choose to return.

Rapid economic growth in Ethiopia — estimated to reach around 10 percent in 2026 — could encourage less migration, IOM says, but that is mitigated by high inflation, also around 10 percent in February.

AFP

International News

Denmark Faces Lengthy Negotiations To Form A Government

Published

3 hours ago

March 25, 2026

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Election workers recount ballots in the Marselisborg Hallen in Aarhus, Denmark on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Mikkel Berg Pedersen / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) /

Denmark’s political parties began the thorny process of forming a government Wednesday, with the centrist Moderates as kingmaker after the prime minister’s Social Democrats scraped through a general election without a majority.

Greenland’s Inuit Ataqatigiit party member Naaja Nathanielsen (C) looks on in a polling station in Nuuk, on March 24, 2026, during the parliamentary election in Denmark (Photo by Oscar Scott Carl / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) / Denmark OUT

Danes were braced for a weeks-long process as Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen seeks to consolidate power in the deeply splintered parliament after Tuesday’s snap vote.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen arrives at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen to inform the king about the election result one day after the parliamentary election on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Martin Sylvest / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP)

A left-wing bloc made up of five parties, including Frederiksen’s Social Democrats, won 84 seats; the right-wing and far-right claimed 77; and the Moderates won 14 in the election.

The Social Democrats posted their worst election score since 1903—though they remained Denmark’s largest single party, with 38 seats in the 179-seat parliament.

Chairwoman of the Social Democrats Mette Frederiksen attends a party leader debate hosted by Publicists’ Club one the day after the parliamentary election at the Confederation of Danish Industry’s building in Copenhagen on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Liselotte Sabroe / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP)

Frederiksen formally tendered her coalition government’s resignation to King Frederik on Wednesday, telling a televised party leader debate she wanted to try to form a centre-left government.

“The most realistic scenario” would be a coalition with the five parties on the left and the centre-right Moderates, she said.

But it is not certain the Moderates, led by Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, would agree to that.

“I don’t believe that Denmark needs policies aligned with” the leftist Red-Green Alliance, Lokke said.

Chairman of the Moderates Lars Loekke Rasmussen attends a party leader debate at the Confederation of Danish Industry’s building in Copenhagen on March 25, 2026, the day after the parliamentary election. (Photo by Liselotte Sabroe / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) / Denmark OUT

King Frederik was to meet party leaders individually later Wednesday to determine who should be asked to try to form the next government.

“My expectation is that Mette Frederiksen will become prime minister,” University of Copenhagen political science professor Rune Stubager told reporters.

“But I don’t know with the backing of which parties, like the left wing or the right wing,” he said.

He noted that Lokke, a two-time former prime minister, would likely vie for the position of prime minister, even though he has adamantly denied any interest in the job.

“Danes want me and not another prime minister. I still have the backing to be able to continue on behalf of the Danish people,” Frederiksen insisted during the debate.

Frederiksen has for the past four years headed an unprecedented left-right coalition made up of her Social Democrats, the Moderates and the Liberals.

The Liberals have refused to continue in a Social Democrat-led government.

‘Too Hard To Say’

Danes are now prepared for long negotiations. After the 2022 election, the talks lasted six weeks.

“It’s a long process, which means the government won’t be formed and it will be quite difficult to pass laws during this period,” lamented Jesper Dyrfjeld Christensen, a 54-year-old engineer.

“It’s really too hard to say who will be part of the coalition,” admitted Stubager.

With 12 parties in parliament, the political landscape is jagged — though Denmark is accustomed to minority governments.

“To some extent, this is the way Danish politics works. You have a minority government in the centre which forms a majority with the left on some issues and with the right on others,” he explained.

The negotiations are expected to focus on economic and pension issues, pollution and immigration, he said.

The traditional far-right party, the Danish People’s Party, which has heavily influenced policy since the late 1990s but slumped in the 2022 election, more than tripled its result to 9.1 per cent of votes.

The three anti-immigration groups together garnered 17 per cent, a stable figure for Denmark’s populist right over the past two decades.

“If negotiations take place in the left-wing bloc with the moderates, then there will be more focus on green issues than on immigration,” Stubager said.

“But if, instead, the Moderates negotiate with the parties on the right, then the central issue will be immigration.”

Four seats in Denmark’s parliament are held by its two autonomous territories — two for Greenland and two for the Faroe Islands.

While the Faroese renewed the mandates of the two outgoing lawmakers, with one for each bloc, Greenland overwhelmingly backed the left-wing party and Naleraq, which advocates rapid independence from Denmark.

AFP