The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, days after he was sentenced in absentia to 75 years’ imprisonment over a ₦33.8 billion fraud case linked to the Mambilla and Zungeru hydroelectric power projects.

According to Channels Television, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede confirmed that Mamman was apprehended around 3:30am on Tuesday in Kano following weeks of intelligence surveillance by the anti-graft agency.

Olukoyede said the EFCC had filed charges against the former minister in January 2025 for allegedly diverting funds earmarked for the power projects. He noted that the commission secured convictions on all 12 counts earlier this month before the court proceeded with sentencing in Mamman’s absence.

The EFCC boss also disclosed that two individuals were arrested alongside the former minister for allegedly shielding a convicted person from law enforcement authorities.

“We have discovered that he was actually being protected all this while,” Olukoyede said during a press briefing.

The commission added that investigations would continue into the property where Mamman was arrested, describing the operation as proof of the Federal Government’s commitment to fighting corruption.

On May 13, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja convicted Mamman on all 12 counts bordering on money laundering and criminal diversion of public funds.

The court imposed seven-year prison terms on most of the counts without an option of fine, while another count attracted a three-year sentence with an option of a ₦10 million fine. The sentences are to run consecutively, resulting in a total jail term of 75 years.

Justice Omotosho ruled that Mamman deliberately avoided court proceedings in an attempt to frustrate the administration of justice and directed security agencies to work with Interpol to ensure his arrest before the EFCC eventually tracked him down in Kano.