An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness told an Abuja High Court that former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr. Olu Agunloye, allegedly disobeyed a presidential directive related to the 3,960MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station project.
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The EFCC claims that Agunloye, who served as Minister between 1999 and 2003 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, illegally awarded a contract for the project on a Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) basis. According to the commission, Agunloye issued a letter to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited conveying the Federal Government’s approval for the contract, despite a presidential directive following a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held on May 21, 2003.
Testifying in court, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Umar Babangida, while being cross-examined by Agunloye’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe SAN, stated: “The defendant disobeyed the directive of Obasanjo and the resolution of the Federal Executive Council meeting of May 21, 2003.”
Babangida explained that the alleged directive was contained in the minutes of the FEC meeting chaired by President Obasanjo. However, when asked to pinpoint the exact section of the minutes showing the directive, the witness admitted that no specific directive was documented.
During cross-examination, Agunloye’s lawyer sought to have the witness read portions of the defendant’s extrajudicial statement previously tendered by the EFCC. The prosecution, led by Abba Mohammed SAN, objected, arguing that the witness could not be cross-examined on a statement that was not his. The court overruled the objection, allowing Babangida to read the statement in which Agunloye asserted that he had never met Leno Adesanya, the alter ego of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, before the contract award, which he claimed occurred only in 2014.
Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie reserved ruling on a motion filed by Agunloye seeking leave to release his international passport. The court adjourned the proceedings until November 3 for the continuation of the cross-examination of the EFCC witness.(NAN)
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