A former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, has been ordered to begin serving a 75-year prison sentence after a Federal High Court in Abuja approved his transfer to the Kuje Correctional Centre following his conviction over the alleged diversion of public funds.
According to a report by Vanguard on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, the court gave the order after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) confirmed that the former minister had been rearrested after previously fleeing following his conviction.
Mamman was convicted over allegations involving the diversion of about ₦33.8 billion in public funds during his time in office as Minister of Power under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The EFCC had declared the former minister wanted after he failed to appear in court at the conclusion of his trial and allegedly jumped bail.
Court proceedings revealed that Mamman had earlier been convicted in absentia on May 13 after repeatedly missing scheduled court sessions.
Following his disappearance, anti-graft officials launched efforts to track him down before he was eventually arrested in Kaduna State, where he was said to have gone into hiding.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, EFCC counsel informed the court that the former minister had been recaptured and requested an order committing him to prison custody to commence serving his sentence.
The court subsequently granted the request and directed that Mamman be transferred to the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
Meanwhile, fresh details emerged during the hearing regarding how the former minister allegedly fled Abuja shortly after judgment was delivered against him.
A relative of the ex-minister, identified as Shamsudeen Mohammed, told the court that Mamman left Abuja in a hired taxi after learning of his conviction.
According to Mohammed, the former minister was still within Abuja around the period judgment was delivered but later traveled out of the Federal Capital Territory.
He stated, “He left Abuja in a hired taxi and traveled to Kaduna two days after the judgment.”
The revelation drew attention in court as prosecutors argued that the former minister deliberately attempted to evade justice by going into hiding after his conviction.
The EFCC maintained that Mamman’s conduct after the judgment justified its earlier decision to declare him wanted and seek his arrest.
The anti-corruption agency also reiterated its commitment to ensuring that public officials found guilty of corruption-related offences face the full weight of the law regardless of their status or previous position in government.
