By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, convicted former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, on 12 counts amended charge, bordering on money laundering, filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Despite Mamman’s absence in court, Justice James Omotosho held that the EFCC proved its case against the former minister beyond a reasonable doubt and consequently found him guilty on all the counts.

Mamman, who served under former President Muhammadu Buhari between August 2019 and September 2021, was prosecuted over alleged diversion and laundering of funds linked to the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects.

The anti-graft agency accused him of conspiring with officials and private companies to divert public funds meant for power sector projects.

Justice Omotosho said he was satisfied with the evidence led by the prosecution before convicting Mamman on all the charges.

Justice Omotosho described the prosecution’s case as overwhelming and the defence as almost non-existent.

“The evidence of the prosecution is overwhelming as against the scanty and almost absent defence of the defendant. The defendant did not offer any credible evidence to rebut the prosecution’s case,” he held.

The court heard that most of the diverted funds were funnelled through Bureau de Change operators, who converted the money into foreign currencies before handing it over to Mamman.

The judge also took a swipe at the former minister’s tenure, lamenting that a man who held the nation’s power sector in his hands showed no interest in leaving a meaningful legacy.

“Little wonder that Nigerians have remained in darkness till today,” Justice Omotosho added.

The conviction was handed down in Mamman’s absence, forcing the court to defer sentencing. The EFCC immediately applied for a warrant of arrest.

His lawyer, Mr. Mohammed Ahmed, told the court that the defendant’s whereabouts had been unknown since last Tuesday when notice of the scheduled judgment was issued, adding that his personal assistant later claimed he was sick.

Ahmed’s bid to persuade the court to adjourn the judgment failed.

The trial judge, however, was unconvinced, referencing news reports showing that Mamman had recently been involved in political activities, including purchasing a form to contest the governorship election in Taraba State.

EFCC’s counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, urged the court to proceed, dismissing any justification for the defendant’s absence.

“My Lord should go ahead. If the judgment is in his favour, we know what to do. If it is against him, we also know what to do,” he said.

Mamman was first arrested in 2021, approximately four months after ex-President Buhari removed him from office.

The EFCC called 17 witnesses and tendered 43 exhibits before closing its case, alleging that he conspired with ministry staff to divert about ₦22 billion meant for the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydro Electric Power projects.

Investigations, the agency said, revealed that the funds were used to acquire choice assets both within and outside the country.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

President Bola Tinubu has approved Nigeria’s bid to host the 2026 Confederation of African Football Awards as well as the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly.

According to a statement released by the Nigeria Football Federation on Tuesday, the approval came during the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, following a meeting between Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe.

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; NFF President Ibrahim Gusau; former NFF President and Special Adviser to the CAF President Amaju Pinnick; as well as CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu were present at the meeting.

In the statement, the NFF confirmed that the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly would take place in October this year, bringing together top football administrators from across the continent.

“The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, has approved Nigeria’s proposed hosting of the 48th Ordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football, as well as this year’s CAF Awards Ceremony,” the statement read.

“The 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly will take place in October this year.”

The CAF Ordinary General Assembly traditionally brings together presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of the six zonal unions, and senior football officials from across the continent.

The CAF Awards ceremony remains African football’s flagship event, celebrating the continent’s top performers in an atmosphere of glitz, glamour, and prestige.

The most recent CAF Awards ceremony took place in Rabat, Morocco, on November 19, 2025, with the hosts dominating several major categories.

Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi succeeded Ademola Lookman as African Men’s Player of the Year after helping Paris Saint-Germain win the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1 title.

The defender became the first Moroccan player to win the award since Mustapha Hadji in 1998, finishing ahead of Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen.

Morocco also won other major individual honours, with Yassine Bounou winning Goalkeeper of the Year, Othmane Maamma named Young Player of the Year, and Ghizlane Chebbak emerging as Women’s Player of the Year after her performances at the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Nigeria, however, still retained a strong presence in the women’s categories. Super Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie successfully defended her Goalkeeper of the Year crown, while Nigeria’s women’s national team won National Team of the Year after another dominant campaign.

Nigeria has previously hosted the CAF Awards on four occasions, with Lagos staging the most recent edition in January 2015.

At that ceremony held at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre, Ivory Coast legend Yaya Touré won his fourth consecutive African Player of the Year award, equalling Samuel Eto’o’s record. Nigeria’s Vincent Enyeama had been among the final three nominees after an outstanding season with Lille but finished behind Touré and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The 2015 ceremony in Lagos also marked the beginning of Asisat Oshoala’s dominance in African women’s football, as the Nigerian forward won her first Women’s Player of the Year award on home soil before going on to extend it to a historic six.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has sharply condemned reports that governors elected on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform diverted funds from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to finance President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign.

In a statement issued Tuesday and signed by National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party described the alleged action as “shameless, cruel, and criminal” — particularly as millions of Nigerians face deepening poverty, hunger, and hopelessness stemming from what the ADC called the ruling party’s “bad policies.”

The party said the report, which alleges that over N800 billion was raised through deductions from FAAC allocations for political purposes, confirms what Nigerians have long suspected.

“The same government that told Nigerians there is no money to reduce suffering somehow found a way to allegedly mobilise over N800 billion for politics,” the statement read. “The same government asking citizens to endure sacrifice is allegedly supervising one of the largest political funding operations in Nigeria’s democratic history. This is not leadership. This is exploitation.”

The ADC further argued that it is morally indefensible for state governments receiving record-breaking allocations to fail in improving citizens’ lives while allegedly diverting money to fund the President’s re-election ambitions.

“Under this APC government, states are receiving more money than at any other period in Nigeria’s history, yet Nigerians are poorer, hungrier, and more desperate than ever before,” the party said. “Roads are still collapsing. Hospitals are still empty. Schools are still underfunded. Workers are underpaid. Communities remain unsafe. The only thing growing is the political appetite of the ruling party.”

The ADC called for an immediate independent investigation into the allegations, including the reported use of FAAC deductions and any related accounts or structures allegedly linked to the operation.

“If these allegations are true, then this represents a dangerous abuse of public trust and a scandal of enormous national consequence,” the party concluded. “You cannot impoverish the people to fund your own re-election. Nigerians are not blind. Nigerians are not fools. And Nigerians will remember.”