By Ayomide Otitoju
An investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abubakar Kwaido, has told a Federal High Court that former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, voluntarily provided multiple confessional statements during his interrogation.
Testifying before Justice James Omotosho on Thursday, Kwaido said the statements were made in the presence of Mamman’s legal counsel or close associates, refuting claims of coercion. “As the court saw in the videos, the defendant and his lawyer were smiling. There was no form of threat,” he told the court.
According to the EFCC, Mamman gave statements on May 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, and 19, as well as on August 3 and 9, 2023. Each session, Kwaido said, was witnessed by different lawyers or companions.
Mamman is currently facing a 12-count charge of conspiracy and money laundering involving ₦33.8 billion allegedly linked to the Mambilla Power Project.
While defence counsel Femi Atteh, SAN, challenged the admissibility of the statements, the court accepted them into evidence after arguments by prosecuting counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
