Former Minister of Power and Steel, Liyel Imoke, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the controversial Mambilla Hydroelectric Power contract awarded during the tenure of his predecessor, Olu Agunloye, did not receive the approval of the Federal Executive Council and was therefore, in his view, null and void.
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Imoke, a former Governor of Cross River State, testified on Monday as the sixth prosecution witness in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s trial of Agunloye, who is facing seven counts arising from the award of the multibillion-dollar Mambilla power project contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
Agunloye is facing charges including alleged disobedience to a presidential directive, conspiracy, forgery and receipt of gratification. He has pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
Under cross-examination by Agunloye’s counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, Imoke maintained that there was no need for him to formally cancel the contract after succeeding Agunloye as Minister of Power and Steel in July 2003 because, according to him, the FEC had never approved the award in the first place.
“A contract awarded in contravention of the FEC will not require cancellation,” Imoke told the court.
“I did not cancel the contract because the FEC did not approve it, and so it was null and void. The minister does not have the power to award a contract.
“It is null and void as far as the FEC and the presidency did not give approval to the award of the contract.”
Imoke served as Minister of Power and Steel from July 2003 until January 2007 under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He later became Governor of Cross River State in May 2007 and served until 2015.
The EFCC’s case centres on the May 2003 award of the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power project to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
The prosecution alleges that Agunloye acted contrary to a directive issued during a Federal Executive Council meeting when he signed a letter conveying what was presented as the Federal Government’s approval for the construction of the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a Build, Operate and Transfer basis.
According to the charge, the project was described as having a proposed generation capacity of 3,960 megawatts.
The commission also accuses Agunloye of conspiring with Leno Adesanya, a promoter of Sunrise Power, to falsify a document titled “Construction of 3,960MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a Build, Operate and Transfer Basis.”
Agunloye is further accused of receiving more than ₦5 million in gratification from Sunrise Power and Adesanya. He has denied the allegations.
Giving evidence before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, Imoke explained how he examined documents concerning the project after assuming office.
He said that in September 2003, Sunrise Power wrote to his ministry making inquiries concerning payment connected with the Mambilla project.
“When I received the letter, I requested the file relating to the project. While reviewing the file, I saw the extract of the minutes of the FEC meeting and other documents,” he told the court.
According to Imoke, the FEC minutes showed that the council had directed the then minister to withdraw his memorandum on the project and invite additional proposals so that the government could consider alternative investment arrangements.
“I read the deliberations and the directives from the FEC to the then Minister of Power and Steel, which stated that the memo of the defendant be withdrawn and directed the Minister to invite more proposals with a view to ensuring constructive deliberations and to explore various investment options,” he said.
Imoke said his review led him to conclude that the contract had not received FEC approval, after which he communicated the position to Sunrise Power.
During cross-examination, however, Imoke confirmed that he did not report Agunloye to the Federal Executive Council after discovering the circumstances surrounding the award.
Adedipe initially sought to ask whether, as a good citizen, Imoke ought to have reported what the defence lawyer described as an unlawful act.
EFCC counsel Abba Mohammed, SAN, objected to the question, and Justice Onwuegbuzie sustained the objection, directing the defence lawyer to rephrase it.
When asked whether he had a civic duty to report an unlawful act, Imoke answered in the affirmative.
The defence counsel also sought to establish whether the records reviewed by Imoke indicated that Agunloye had committed a criminal offence by awarding the contract.
Mohammed again objected, arguing that it was for the court, rather than the witness, to determine whether Agunloye committed a criminal offence.
The judge sustained the objection.
Adedipe subsequently asked whether Imoke informed the FEC after becoming aware of the circumstances surrounding the contract.
“No, I did not,” Imoke replied.
The Mambilla project has for years been at the centre of a dispute between the Nigerian government and Sunrise Power.
Former President Obasanjo had in 2023 accused Agunloye of awarding the contract without the necessary approval. Agunloye rejected the accusation and maintained that he was being made a scapegoat in connection with Nigeria’s international arbitration dispute with Sunrise Power.
An international arbitration tribunal in Paris subsequently decided the dispute in Nigeria’s favour, rejecting Sunrise Power’s claims against the country. According to the account of the tribunal’s decision contained in the material before the court, the tribunal found that the circumstances surrounding the contract were tainted by bribery and fraud.
The criminal trial before the FCT High Court is, however, separate from the arbitration proceedings, and Agunloye continues to deny the criminal allegations brought against him by the EFCC.
The former minister was declared wanted by the EFCC in December 2023 and subsequently presented himself to the commission for questioning.
He was arraigned in January 2024, while the charges were later amended, leading to further arraignments in February 2024 and September 2025.
The prosecution has so far called six witnesses.
One of them, EFCC investigator Umar Babangida, previously testified that Obasanjo was interviewed during the investigation. He also referred to a November 2023 letter in which the former president indicated his willingness to testify concerning the Mambilla project if his evidence became necessary in the national interest.
The prosecution has not indicated whether Obasanjo will eventually be called as a witness.
Agunloye had separately sued the EFCC over alleged violations of his fundamental rights, but the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the action in March 2024.
In a different proceeding earlier this month, however, Justice Peter Kekemeke of the FCT High Court found the EFCC liable for defaming Agunloye over a publication concerning the criminal trial and awarded him ₦10 million in damages.
At the conclusion of Monday’s proceedings, the prosecution requested an adjournment to attend to an urgent matter.
Justice Onwuegbuzie granted the request and adjourned the trial until November 2, 2026.
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