Nigeria arrests former minister in hiding after corruption conviction

The former power minister was sentenced to 75 years in jail in absentia earlier this month. Saleh Mamman: Nigeria arrests former minister in hiding after conviction for corruption Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Authorities said they wanted to ensure Mamman served his sentence Saleh Mamman wearing a black cloth, handcuffed and holding a white board Nigeria arrests former minister in hiding after corruption conviction Nigeria's anti-corruption agency says it has arrested former Power Minister Saleh Mamman a week after he was sentenced to 75 years in jail on corruption charges. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said Mamman was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday in the northern Kaduna state after "weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering". In a statement, the agency said the former minister had gone into hiding after being convicted by a court in the capital Abuja earlier this month. Mamman was found guilty on 12 counts related to the diversion of funds meant for two hydroelectric power projects. The court ruled that prosecutors had proved their case beyond reasonable doubt. He was sentenced in absentia after failing to appear in court. The court ruled that prosecutors had proved their case beyond reasonable doubt. His arrest on Tuesday marks a rare follow-through in the fight against high-level corruption, with convictions of top officials uncommon in the West African nation. EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede said authorities were determined to ensure the former minister served his sentence. "For us, getting the convict to serve his jail terms is extremely important in view of the seriousness with which we are tackling corrupt practices," he said. The judge who ruled on his case said during the trial that the EFCC had shown that Mamman and his associates diverted at least 22bn naira ($14m; £10m) intended for critical electricity projects. The judge described the diversion of public funds as a gross abuse of public trust and said proxy companies and associates were used to siphon money from the projects. The former minister was sentenced for multiple prison terms across the charges, which are to run consecutively, making it to a total of 75 years. He also faces a separate corruption trial in Abuja over allegations of fraud involving 31bn naira. Earlier this month, another judge issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear in court in that case. Mamman served as Nigeria's power minister between 2019 and 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari. His conviction has sparked outrage over Nigeria's lingering electricity problems, especially as he had promised to improve power supply while in office. Despite being one of Africa's biggest energy producers, Nigeria still faces frequent blackouts and power cuts which affect homes and businesses. Many people rely on fuel generators for electricity, but rising fuel costs have made this increasingly difficult. Chidinma Emeneka inside her laundry business Living with Nigeria's blackouts - six weeks, no power Seized homes by Nigerian government in Lokogoma area of Abuja Hundreds of Nigerian homes seized in huge anti-graft case A woman wearing a hat, glasses, a coat and sweater is seen from the side Oil tycoons deny paying bribes to former Nigerian minister A woman looking at her mobile phone and the graphic BBC News Africa Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Ghana will face fellow West African heavyweights Ivory Coast in qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, which have devastated Mussa town in Borno state. President Donald Trump said the operation eliminated "the most active terrorist in the world", Abu-Bilal al-Minuki. An outbreak of Ebola in DR Congo involves a rare strain and is in an area affected by conflict. Hundreds of cases are suspected in central Africa but experts fear the actual number may be much higher. The health minister has acknowledged that medics are playing catch-up with the virus after being slow to detect it. The government and transport operators are in talks to resolve the dispute over the hike in fuel prices. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak an international emergency.