EFCC Stands Firm On Prosecuting Ex-minister Agunloye Over Alleged $6 Billion Fraud

EFCC Stands Firm On Prosecuting Ex-minister Agunloye Over Alleged $6 Billion Fraud

EFCC Interrogates Agunloye Regarding Controversial Mambilla Power Project The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) maintains its stance on having the legal authority to prosecute former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, over the purported $6 billion Mambilla hydroelectric power plant project……read also EFCC Sounds Alarm: Nigerian Banking Sector Faces Escalating Fraud

Ireporteronline reports that Agunloye, who served as a minister during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo, faces prosecution by the EFCC for alleged infractions related to the Mambilla power plant.

Judge Jude Onwuegbuzie of the FCT High Court Apo, Abuja, presides over the case, identified as FCT/HC/CR/617/22. The former minister faces seven charges, including corruption, disobedience of presidential directives, and forgery.

Among the accusations, he stands accused of awarding Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited a contract on May 22, 2003, for the “Construction of 3,960 megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a build, operate, and transfer basis” without adequate financial backing, budgetary allocations, or official approval.

Moreover, the EFCC alleges connections between the former minister’s accounts and suspicious transactions executed by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.

His legal counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, argued in a motion that the anti-corruption agency lacks the investigative or prosecutorial mandate to bring charges against him at this juncture.

Furthermore, he contended that the charges against his client did not constitute financial crimes but rather emanated from his duties as a public official.

In response, the EFCC reiterated in its counter-affidavit that it possesses the legal mandate to investigate and prosecute the former minister, despite his assertions.

The commission emphasized that the law empowers it to conduct investigations and initiate legal actions against the former minister.

overlay-clevercloseLogo The commission highlighted significant distinctions between the ongoing case involving the ex-minister and the Nwobike v. FRN case, which the defense cited to challenge the EFCC’s prosecutorial authority