By Nurat Uthman
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Apo, on Wednesday, remanded a former Minister of Power and Steel, Mr. Olu Agunloye, in prison custody.
Agunloye served as a Minister between 1999 and 2003, under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He was remanded at the Kuje Correctional Center by trial Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, shortly after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, arraigned him on a seven-count charge following his alleged complicity in a $6billion fraud.
The EFCC alleged that the defendant had while he held sway as a Minister, illegally awarded a contract for the construction of 3,960mw Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a Build, Operate and Transfer Basis.
The agency told the court that the contract, which was awarded to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, was done without any budgetary provision, approval and cash backing.
Agunloye was equally alleged to have
corruptly received kickback to the tune of N3.6million, from the company he awarded the contract to.
However, the defendant, who had also served as a Minister of State for Defence, pleaded not guilty to the charge after it was read to him in the open court.
The prosecution counsel, Mr. Abba Muhammed prayed the court for a trial date, even as he applied for the defendant to be remanded in a correctional center.
On his part, the defence lawyer, Mr. Adeola Adedipe, SAN, notified the court that he had filed an application for the defendant to be released on bail, pending the hearing and determination of the case against him.
Adedipe, SAN, further prayed the court to allow his client to remain in the custody of the anti-graft agency till the determination of his bail application
In a bench ruling, Justice Onwuegbuzie, while slating Thursday to rule on the Agunloye’s request for bail, ordered that he should be kept at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
It will be recalled that the EFCC had earlier arrested and detained Agunloye over his alleged involvement in official corruption and forgery, relating to the $6billion Mambilla HydroPower Project.
He was later released on administrative bail and handed over to his lawyer, Adedipe, SAN.
The defendant had since denied an allegation by ex-President Obasanjo that he illegally awarded contracts pertaining to the HydroPower Project, without the approval of the Federal Executive Council, FEC.
Meanwhile, some counts in the charge the EFCC preferred against him, read: “That you, Olu Agunloye, whilst being the Minister of Power and Steel on or about the 22nd of May, 2003 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court awarded a contract, titled ‘Construction of 3,960mw Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a Build, Operate and Transfer Basis’ to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without any budgetary provision, approval and cash backing and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22(4) of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act, 2000.”
“That you, Olu Agunloye, on or about the 10th of August, 2019 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, corruptly received the sum of Three Million Six Hundred Thousand Naira (N3,600,000.00) through your Guaranty Trust Bank account no.0022530926 from Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL) and Leno Adesanya for having conveyed the ‘approval of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the construction of the 3,960 megawatts Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station’ in favour of SPTCL which you did whilst serving as the Minister of Power and Steel without the approval of the Federal Executive Council contrary to and punishable under Section 8(1)(a) and (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.”
