The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has presented a statement written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo as part of the evidence in the trial of Dr. Olu Agunloye, who used to be Nigeria’s Minister of Power and Steel.
Agunloye is facing serious accusations regarding how he handled the contract for the Mambilla Hydropower Station project in Taraba State. The EFCC claims that he awarded the contract without proper government approval or any budgetary support.
The charges against him include forgery, accepting bribes, and ignoring a presidential directive. The case is being heard by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie at the High Court in Abuja.
According to the EFCC, Agunloye gave the contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited on May 22, 2003. However, they say that there was no approval from the Federal Executive Council, no funds allocated, and no official permission from the president at that time.
The EFCC also alleges that Agunloye received over ₦5.2 million in his Guaranty Trust Bank account. The money reportedly came from Sunrise Power and a businessman named Leno Adesanya.
The funds were sent through Jide Abiodun Sotirin, who worked closely with Adesanya and was also a director at Sunrise Power. Agunloye has denied all the allegations. During the latest court hearing, EFCC witness Umar Hussein Babangida, a police officer working with the commission, told the court that Obasanjo had sent a letter in November 2023 to the Attorney-General explaining what happened at the Federal Executive Council meeting back in May 2003.
The EFCC later got a certified copy of this letter from the Ministry of Justice. In the letter, Obasanjo said that Agunloye sent him a memo about the project and he only asked him to present it to the Federal Executive Council. He made it clear that he did not give any approval for the contract and the council also did not approve it at the meeting.
Babangida added that the EFCC team interviewed Obasanjo in person, and the former president confirmed that he never gave Agunloye the right to award the Mambilla contract to Sunrise Power. The EFCC lawyer, Abba Mohammed, submitted Obasanjo’s written statement to the court as evidence.
Agunloye’s lawyer, Samuel Fagade, opposed this move but did not explain why. He said he would save his argument for later. The court allowed the statement to be used temporarily in the case.
According to Babangida, Obasanjo also said that during the May 21, 2003 meeting, the council told Agunloye to take back his memo. Obasanjo added that the letter Agunloye wrote the next day, awarding the contract, was not authorized by the government.
The EFCC continued its investigation by reviewing Agunloye’s bank records. They found that he had several bank accounts and confirmed that three payments were made to him in 2019 by Jide Abiodun Sotirin: ₦3.6 million in August, ₦500,000 in October, and ₦1.1 million in November. These payments were linked to Adesanya and Sunrise Power. The trial has now been postponed until June 18 for the next hearing.
