A former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, told a Federal High Court that he responded to an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) despite being unwell.
He said he was still recovering from an illness when he was called in for questioning over fraud claims.
During a hearing before Justice James Omotosho, a video of Mamman’s interaction with EFCC officers was played in court.
In the video, which lasted for about 39 minutes and was translated from Hausa to English, Mamman said he came straight from the hospital to honour the EFCC’s invitation.
He also denied owning a property in Wuse 2, Abuja, during the questioning.
The EFCC presented the video to prove that Mamman’s statement was made freely.
But Mamman’s lawyer, Femi Atte, argued that his client was not in the right frame of mind at the time, having just recovered from an illness, and claimed the statement was made under pressure.
Earlier in the trial, on March 19, a deputy manager at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Okoroafor Chinyere, appeared as a prosecution witness.
She said the CBN handled a project account connected to the Ministry of Power but made it clear that the account was fully controlled by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF).
She added that payments through Remita did not come from the Minister or his office. Instead, all instructions for transactions came directly from the OAGF.
Okoroafor also explained that the Mambila Zungeru project account, one of the accounts in question, is under the CBN’s care but only the Accountant General has the authority to approve withdrawals.
She confirmed that the Minister had no power to access or authorize withdrawals from that account.
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