EFCC witness alleges Agunloye slashed FG’s equity in $6bn Mambilla Project

The trial of former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, over the alleged $6 billion Mambilla Power Project fraud continued on Monday as a prosecution witness told the court that the former minister reduced the Federal Government’s equity participation in the project without presidential approval.

The third prosecution witness (PW3), Umar Hussein Babangida, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), made the disclosure while testifying before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal High Court, Apo, Abuja.

Agunloye is being prosecuted by the EFCC on an amended seven-count charge bordering on official corruption and the alleged fraudulent award of the Mambilla Power Project contract, valued at $6 billion, to Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited.

During cross-examination by defence counsel, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), Babangida told the court that the Federal Government’s equity participation in the project had originally been recommended at 25 per cent, equivalent to $1.5 billion.

According to the witness, Agunloye later reduced the government’s equity stake to 10 per cent without the knowledge or approval of the President.

“The recommendation for equity participation of the Federal Government was 25 per cent which translated to $1.5 billion, and there was no approval for the defendant to reduce it to 10 per cent as he did,” Babangida said.

Earlier in the proceedings, Justice Onwuegbuzie ruled in favour of the prosecution, allowing the witness to clarify discrepancies in two documentary exhibits tendered by the EFCC-Exhibits EFCC 3K and EFCC 3D, which had previously been challenged by the defence.

Explaining the documents, the witness told the court that both exhibits were extracts from the deliberations of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of May 21, 2003, relating to the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.

“Exhibit EFCC 3K contains paragraph 14, which is an extract of the deliberation of the FEC meeting of May 21, 2003, concerning the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Plant. Exhibit EFCC 3D, paragraph 14, is also a document of the same FEC meeting. Both are the same in exact words and there is no ambiguity,” he said.

He explained further that while Exhibit EFCC 3D contained paragraphs 13, 14 and 15, Exhibit EFCC 3K contained only paragraph 14, which he said was transmitted to the Ministry of Power by the Cabinet Office.

Babangida also told the court that on May 22, 2003, a member of the cabinet was invited to provide additional clarification on the matter. He said the details were captured in Exhibit EFCC 3N, which contained a response to a questionnaire addressed to former President Olusegun Obasanjo by a delegation of counsel from the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation.

The witness further alleged that Agunloye received N5.6 million as gratification linked to the award of the contract.

According to him, the money was transferred in 2003 by Jide Sotinri on the instruction of his principal, Mr. Leno Adesanya.

He told the court that although Sotinri claimed in his extrajudicial statement that the payment was meant for surgery, bank records presented during the investigation reflected a different transaction entry.

Babangida also stated that there was no Ministerial Tenders Board in 2003 when the contract was awarded, adding that the process was handled by a technical committee.

Following the conclusion of the cross-examination by the defence, Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the case to March 30, 2026, for re-examination of the witness.

The court also fixed April 20, 27 and 30, 2026 for continuation of the trial.