Court Approves EFCC’s Amended Charges Against Ex-Minister Agunloye in Mambilla Power Project Case
The case against former Minister of Power, Alhaji Bart Nnaji Agunloye, involving allegations of forgery, non-compliance with presidential directives, and corruption linked to the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State, has taken a significant turn.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accuses Agunloye of awarding a contract on May 22, 2003, for the “Construction of a 3,960-megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a build, operate, and transfer basis” to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without proper budgetary allocation, approval, or financial backing.
Furthermore, the EFCC alleges that questionable payments were traced from Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited to Agunloye’s accounts during his tenure under former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Agunloye has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
On January 23, 2025, Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ruled in favor of the EFCC’s request to amend the charges. The judge determined that such amendments are permissible under Sections 216 and 217 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, and do not require prior court approval.
Justice Onwuegbuzie dismissed Agunloye’s claim that the amendment was intended to disadvantage him. He set February 3, 2025, as the date for Agunloye’s rearraignment on the updated charges.
Agunloye’s counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, had opposed the amendment, arguing that it constituted an overreach and citing a declarative right established in a related ruling by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court. Adedipe asserted that this right, enforceable under Section 287(3) of the 1999 Constitution, should prevent the inclusion of Leno Adesanya, a key figure in the amended charges.
However, EFCC counsel Abba Muhammed, SAN, countered that the motion to amend complied with the ACJA. He urged the court to grant the prosecution’s request to record and serve the amended charges.
Ultimately, the judge sided with the prosecution, allowing the amendment to proceed.
