{"id":1522,"date":"2026-07-04T07:30:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T07:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=1522"},"modified":"2026-07-04T13:05:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T13:05:37","slug":"justice-how-convicted-ex-minister-forfeits-more-properties-to-nigerian-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=1522","title":{"rendered":"Justice: How convicted ex-Minister forfeits more properties to Nigerian Government"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>*<strong><em>Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court sitting, in Abuja, orders the forfeiture of five additional multibillion Naira properties linked to Alhaji Saleh Mamman, ex-Minister for Power, criticising the convict for enriching himself while several millions of Nigerian consumers continued to endure poor electricity supply in the economy <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect<\/p>\n<p>The Federal High Court, sitting Thursday, July 2, 2026, in Abuja, FCT, has ordered the forfeiture of five additional multibillion Naira properties linked to Alhaji Saleh Mamman, 68, Nigeria&#8217;s former Minister for Power 2019 and 2021.<\/p>\n<p><em>ConsumerConnect<\/em> reports the court had found Alhaji Mamman guilty of syphoning N22 billion power contract fund.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Gvu98bwjVu\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=1546\">Special Report: TETFund&#8217;s N2bn initial funding commitment to new N10bn OAU Centre of Excellence<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cSpecial Report: TETFund\u2019s N2bn initial funding commitment to new N10bn OAU Centre of Excellence\u201d \u2014 Consumer Experience Is A Top Priority\" src=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=1546&amp;embed=true#?secret=TjzYlr7QKX#?secret=Gvu98bwjVu\" data-secret=\"Gvu98bwjVu\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Justice James Omotosho made the order Thursday, July 2, 2026, while ruling on an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).<\/p>\n<p>The convict, Mamman, later was committed to 75 years in jail May 7, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Hitherto, he had shunned court, and evaded arrest before sentencing, and sent to jail.<\/p>\n<p>The Judge ruled on interim and permanent forfeitures as follows:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Permanent Forfeiture<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Walijam Apartments at No. 43, Plot 435, Lobito Crescent, Wuse 2<\/p>\n<p><strong>Interim Forfeiture<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An interim forfeiture order was made against four other assets belonging to the former Power Minister.<\/p>\n<p>The assets are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Walijam Apartments at 43, Plot 435, Lobito Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja;<\/li>\n<li>Bloom Luxury Suites Nigeria Limited at 5 Amana Crescent, New Estate, Unguwan Rimi, Kaduna State;<\/li>\n<li>A mansion at 11 Misratah Street, Wuse 2, Abuja; another mansion at 13 Misratah Street, Wuse 2, Abuja;<\/li>\n<li>U.A Plaza at Plot 734 Kade Street, Wuse 2, Abuja.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Justice Omotosho ordered the permanent forfeiture of Walijam Apartments.<\/p>\n<p>The Judge also held that the EFCC established during Mamman\u2019s criminal trial that the property was acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.<\/p>\n<p>The judge, however, granted an interim forfeiture order in respect of the four other properties, according to report.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Omotosho, in his ruling, had said the EFCC had yet to conclusively establish that Mamman acquired them or had beneficial interests in them.<\/p>\n<p>He further directed the anti-graft regulatory Commission to publish the interim forfeiture order in a national newspaper within seven days to enable any interested party to appear before the court and show cause why the properties should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to his forfeiture order, Justice Omotosho reportedly rejected the argument by Mamman\u2019s lawyer, Femi Atteh (SAN), that the court had become functus officio after convicting and sentencing the former minister.<\/p>\n<p>The Judge held that Section 321 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) empowers the court to make restitution and forfeiture orders even after conviction.<\/p>\n<p>Abba Mohammed, counsel to EFCC, while arguing the Commission&#8217;s application, said the court retained jurisdiction to entertain the motion despite having concluded the criminal trial.<\/p>\n<p>Mohammed, in his ruling restated that the court found that Mamman diverted N22 billion of the N33.8 billion alleged in the charge and noted that the Commission had recovered less than N2 billion, despite earlier forfeiture orders.<\/p>\n<p>The EFCC counsel, therefore, urged the court to order the forfeiture of the additional properties to recover part of the outstanding proceeds of Mamman&#8217;s crime.<\/p>\n<p>In its judgment delivered May 7, the court ordered the final forfeiture of several Abuja properties, and funds recovered in different currencies during the EFCC\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier, Justice Omotosho had convicted Mamman on a 12-count money laundering involving the diversion of funds meant for the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects.<\/p>\n<p>The court found that the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the former minister diverted at least N22 billion through proxy companies and accomplices.<\/p>\n<p>Following his conviction Nay this year, the Judge sentenced Mamman to a cumulative prison term of 75 years, with the sentences to run consecutively from the date of his arrest.<\/p>\n<p>The Judge as well ordered security agencies, including INTERPOL, to arrest him wherever found and hand him over to the Nigerian Correctional Service to serve the sentence.<\/p>\n<p>The court further directed Mamman to refund the outstanding balance between the assets and funds already recovered and the N22 billion established during the trial.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Court: Diversion of funds for electricity projects an abuse of public trust<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;In the judgement, Justice Omotosho condemned the former Minister&#8217;s diversion of funds meant for critical electricity projects in Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p>He described the official corrupt action as a grave abuse of public trust.<\/p>\n<p>According to Justice Omotosho, prosecution\u2019s evidence showed that Mamman, and his associates siphoned public funds intended for the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Projects through proxy companies.<\/p>\n<p>The Judge also criticised the convict for enriching himself while Nigerian consumers continued to endure poor electricity supply.<\/p>\n<p>The prosecution conducted a painstaking investigation that successfully traced the diverted funds, and linked them to the former Minister.<\/p>\n<p>The EFCC operatives later arrested Mamman, following weeks of surveillance following his conviction in absentia.<\/p>\n<p>He was promptly taken into the correctional centre to begin his jail term.<\/p>\n<p><strong>EFCC determined to ensure justice: Executive Chair Olukoyede <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In his remarks on the court judgement for Mamman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, Executive Chairman of EFCC, said authorities were determined to ensure the former Minister served his sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Olukoyede stated: \u201cFor us, getting the convict to serve his jail terms is extremely important in view of the seriousness with which we are tackling corrupt practices.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The former Minister also, is facing a separate criminal trial, in Abuja, over alleged fraud involving N31 billion.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>*Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court sitting, in Abuja, orders the forfeiture of five additional multibillion Naira properties linked to Alhaji Saleh Mamman,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Convicted Alhaji Saleh Mamman, Nigeria's Ex-Minister for 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href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=18\" rel=\"category\">Complaints<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=20\" rel=\"category\">Highlights<\/a>","tag_info":"Highlights","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1522"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1585,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1522\/revisions\/1585"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}