Abuja: An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness told an Abuja High Court that former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr. Olu Agunloye, did not disobey a presidential directive concerning the Mambilla Power Project. The EFCC had alleged that Agunloye, who served as a Minister between 1999 and 2003 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, illegally awarded a contract for the construction of the 3,960MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a Build, Operate and Transfer basis.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Umar Babangida, while being cross-examined by Agunloye’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe SAN, testified that the defendant did not disobey the directive of Obasanjo and the resolution of the Federal Executive Council meeting of May 21, 2003. Babangida explained that the presidential directive was contained in the minutes of the FEC meeting of that date, chaired by Obasanjo. However, when asked to point out the specific directive in the minutes, the witness confirmed there was no such directive.
During the proceedings, when Agunloye’s extrajudicial statement, tendered by the EFCC as an exhibit, was referred to, the prosecution counsel, Abba Mohammed SAN, objected to the cross-examination on a statement not made by the witness. However, Adedipe argued that the witness had not only taken Agunloye’s statement but also provided evidence on it. The court overruled the objection and directed Babangida to read the relevant portion.
Babangida read the statement in which Agunloye noted that he never met Leno Adesanya, the alter ego of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL), before the contract was awarded until 2014. Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie reserved ruling on a motion filed by the defendant seeking the release of his international passport and adjourned the case until Nov. 3 for the continuation of the cross-examination of the prosecution witness 3 (PW3).