By Nkechi Eze
Fresh documentary evidence has been presented before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in the ongoing trial of former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, who is facing allegations of involvement in a N31 billion fraud.
The evidence was tendered on Wednesday by the first prosecution witness, Umar Abba, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, during proceedings presided over by Justice Maryann Anineh at the court sitting in Maitama, Abuja.
Mamman is standing trial alongside seven other defendants—Mustapha Abubakar Bida, Joseph Omotayo Adewunmi, Ben Nsikak, Stephen Ojo, Oladipo Adebowale, Michael Achua and Ogunjobi Olusila—over a nine-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence and intent to defraud to the tune of N31,070,541,349.64.
While being led in evidence by prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, the witness presented several banking documents relating to multiple companies allegedly linked to the transactions under investigation. The documents included account opening packages, signatory mandates, statements of accounts detailing various transactions, as well as certificates of identification.
According to Abba, the documents were generated from the bank’s internal system and provided to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following a formal request made by the anti-graft agency around March 2025.
He explained that the bank received an official letter from the EFCC requesting the relevant account records connected to the companies under investigation, after which the requested materials were retrieved and forwarded to the commission.
The documents were subsequently tendered in evidence before the court and admitted without objection from the defence. They were marked as Exhibits A1–A4, B1–B4 and C1–C4.
During cross-examination, the witness clarified that he did not personally know Mamman or the other defendants, noting that his knowledge of the matter was limited to the bank records presented in court.
He further told the court that the EFCC’s request for the account information was not copied to the account holders because doing so would violate banking regulations and established banking practices.
Earlier in the proceedings, Justice Anineh ruled on an application filed by the second defendant challenging the court’s jurisdiction and seeking a stay of proceedings. The judge held that applications for stay of proceedings cannot be entertained in criminal matters and consequently struck out the request.
Counsel to the second defendant later informed the court of a separate application filed on February 28, 2026, seeking permission for his client to travel for the Hajj pilgrimage. He also indicated that the second prayer contained in the application would be withdrawn.
The prosecution responded by presenting a counter affidavit opposing aspects of the request.
After hearing arguments from both parties, the court granted the defendant permission to travel and ordered that he must return to Nigeria on or before March 23, 2026. The judge further directed that the defendant’s international passport be returned to the court registrar no later than March 24, 2026.
Justice Anineh subsequently adjourned the case to March 25, 2026 for continuation of trial.
