The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday presented its fifth prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, over the alleged fraudulent award of the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project contract valued at $6 billion.
Agunloye is being prosecuted before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Apo, Abuja, on an amended seven-count charge bordering on official corruption and the alleged unlawful award of the Mambilla Power Project contract to Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited.
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The fifth prosecution witness, Iliya John Iyakwari, an Assistant Director of Legal at the Federal Ministry of Justice and currently serving as Assistant Legal Adviser in the Federal Ministry of Power, testified before the court while being led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Abba Mohammed.
Iyakwari told the court that he certified the extract of the minutes of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held on May 21, 2003, following a request from the EFCC.
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According to him, the anti-graft agency wrote to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power in June 2023, requesting the extract of the FEC meeting. The request was subsequently forwarded to the ministry’s Legal Services Department for action.
“The Permanent Secretary forwarded the letter to the Legal Services Department, requesting the information contained in the letter. The department handling such records provided the extract, and my Legal Adviser directed me to certify the document. I thereafter forwarded the certified copy of the extract to the EFCC using the ministry’s official letterhead,” he testified.
During the proceedings, the witness identified and confirmed as genuine copies both the EFCC’s request letter, admitted as Exhibit EFCC 3J, and the ministry’s response, admitted as Exhibit EFCC 3K.
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Following the testimony, Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the matter until June 8, 2026, for the cross-examination of the witness.
The trial is one of the high-profile corruption cases arising from the controversial Mambilla Power Project, a major hydroelectric project intended to boost Nigeria’s power generation capacity.