NIGERIA: Court Grants EFCC’s Request to Amend Charges In $6bn Mambilla Power Project Fraud Case

By Ameenat Hamzat, Lagos, Nigeria

Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal High Court in Apo, Abuja, has granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) permission to amend charges against former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, in an ongoing trial over the alleged fraudulent award of the $6 billion Mambilla Power Project contract.

This was disclosed in a press release signed by the Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Thursday.

The statement revealed that the EFCC is prosecuting Agunloye on seven counts of official corruption and fraud related to the project.

The court’s ruling allows the anti-graft agency to alter the charges and compel the defendant to take his plea.

During a prior hearing on July 1, 2024, EFCC counsel Abba Mohammed, SAN, sought approval for the amended charges under Sections 216 and 217 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.

However, the defense counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, argued that the prosecution must formally seek and obtain the court’s leave before amending the charges.

In its judgment, Justice Onwuegbuzie ruled that the amendment was neither intended to overreach the defendant nor cause him injustice.

Referring to the Court of Appeal’s decision in Bovoa v FRN & Anor (2017), the judge noted that a court could permit alterations or amendments to charges at any point before judgment is delivered.

The judge stated: “In the court’s final decision, the arguments of the learned counsel to the defendant are hereby discountenanced. I therefore hold that the application is liable to succeed.

“Accordingly, the application is hereby granted as prayed, and the defendant is hereby ordered to take his plea on the altered or amended charge.”

The Mambilla Power Project controversy traces back to 2003, during Olu Agunloye’s tenure as Minister of Power.

Agunloye is currently facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a seven-count charge, marked FCT/HC/CR/617/2023.

The charges include forgery, disobedience of presidential directives, and corruption allegedly linked to the Mambilla power plant project.

According to the EFCC, on May 22, 2003, Agunloye awarded a contract titled “Construction of 3,960 Megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on Build, Operate, and Transfer Basis” to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without budgetary provision, necessary approval, or financial backing.

The commission further alleged that suspicious payments from Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited were traced to the former minister’s accounts.

Agunloye, who served under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Recently, the EFCC asked the court to let it adjust the charges it initially filed against the former minister.

Agunloye’s lawyer opposed this, saying it was unfair and unnecessary, accusing the EFCC of trying to fix mistakes in its case.

However, in today’s judgment, the court has allowed the Commission to update the charges against the former minister and ordered Agunloye to respond to the updated charges.

Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the case to February 3, 2025, for the defendant to take his plea.