$6billion Mambilla Fraud: EFCC Re-Arraigns Obasanjo’s Power Minister Agunloye On Amended Charges
$6billion Mambilla Fraud: EFCC Re-Arraigns Obasanjo’s Power Minister Agunloye On Amended Charges
Agunloye is accused of official corruption and the fraudulent award of contract for the $6 billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project under Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, one of Nigeria’s most ambitious but long-delayed infrastructure projects.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday, September 18, 2025, re-arraigned former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr. Olu Agunloye, before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal High Court, Apo Division, Abuja, on an amended seven-count charge.
Agunloye is accused of official corruption and the fraudulent award of contract for the $6 billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project under Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, one of Nigeria’s most ambitious but long-delayed infrastructure projects.
According to the EFCC, Agunloye, while serving as minister in 2003, unlawfully approved the contract for the 3,960-megawatt Mambilla Power Project to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL), allegedly disregarding a presidential directive.
Count one read, “That you, Olu Agunloye, whilst being the Minister of Power and Steel on or about the 2nd of May, 2003 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, knowingly disobeyed the directive of the President, made in the Federal Executive Council meeting of 21st May 2003, directed at you pursuant to the President’s powers under Section 5(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), when you signed a letter addressed to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited conveying the approval of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the construction of the 3,960 megawatts Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 123 of the Penal Code Law.”
In count four, the EFCC alleged that Agunloye, together with Leno Adesanya of Sunrise (said to be at large), used a false document to induce the Federal Government to enter into a contract with SPTCL.
The document, dated May 22, 2003, allegedly misrepresented the terms of a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement for the project.
“That you, Olu Agunloye whilst being the Minister of Power and Steel and Leno Adesanya (at large) of Sunrise [Power and Transmission Company Limited, on or about the 22nd of May, 2003 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to cause the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) to enter into a contract with Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL) used as genuine, a false document titled, “Construction of 3,960mw Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a Build, Operate and Transfer Basis,” dated the 22nd of May, 2003, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 366 and punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code,” the count four read.
However, Agunloye pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Following his plea, EFCC counsel, M.K. Hussein, requested a date for continuation of the testimony of the third prosecution witness.
Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the matter to October 9, 2025, for further hearing.
The Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, located in Taraba State, has been on the drawing board for over 40 years.
Conceived in the early 1980s, it is designed to generate nearly 4,000 megawatts of electricity, which would make it the largest power plant in Nigeria and one of the biggest in Africa.
However, the project has been dogged by disputes, delays, and allegations of corruption.
At the center of the controversy is Sunrise Power, whose claim to the contract awarded under Agunloye’s tenure has led to multiple lawsuits and arbitration cases between the company and the Nigerian government.
The EFCC has maintained that the contract was awarded without due process and that the former minister exceeded his authority.
Agunloye, who served under former President Obasanjo, has consistently denied wrongdoing and insists he acted in the best interest of Nigeria.
The re-arraignment is part of the EFCC’s broader efforts to revisit high-profile corruption cases linked to Nigeria’s stalled energy infrastructure projects.
