Former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, has been ordered by the Federal High Court in Abuja to be remanded in the Kuje Correctional Service over an alleged $6 billion fraud related to the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought seven counts against Agunloye, accusing him of fraudulent award of contracts and official corruption.
Agunloye, who served as a minister between 1999 and 2003 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The judge, Justice J.O. Onwuegbuzie, ordered his remand in Kuje Correctional Service pending the hearing of his bail application.
The charges include the allegation that on May 22, 2003, Agunloye awarded a contract for the construction of the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without budgetary provision, approval, and cash backing, violating the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
In another count, Agunloye is accused of corruptly receiving N3.6 million from Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited and Leno Adesanya on August 10, 2019, for conveying the approval of the Government of Nigeria for the power station's construction, without the approval of the Federal Executive Council.
The trial date is yet to be set, and the bail application is scheduled for January 11. The relationship between Agunloye and ex-President Obasanjo, who served during Obasanjo's first term, has become strained. Obasanjo declared his readiness to testify against Agunloye over the disputed Mambila power contract, challenging him to explain the authority for awarding the $6 billion contract. Agunloye was declared wanted by the EFCC in December 2023 but was arrested and later released to his lawyer on December 20, 2023.
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