A third prosecution witness has testified that Saleh Mamman, a former minister of power, diverted N20 million from the Mambilla hydropower project to lodge in a resort for one year.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) published the details of the proceedings on Wednesday.

The witness, who is a chief security officer and the owner of Sami Court Resort Limited where Mamman lodged, testified on Tuesday before Justice Omotosho of the Abuja Federal High Court.

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“Sami Court Resort Limited is a service apartment where people come to lodge and stay for a long time, one month, two months, a year,” the witness said in court.

“You only book in with your clothes, then any other thing is serviced by the apartment.”

The witness said that the EFCC invited him for questioning on September 6, 2023, to reveal the inflows of the resort’s United Bank for Africa (UBA) account from 2019 to 2021.

Mamman lodged in the resort between August 30, 2021, and August 30, 2022.

The witness also gave a further explanation of the invoice issued to Mamman as ‘exhibit PWC’.

“On September 6, 2021, the inflow was N5 million, deposited by Golden Bond Nigeria Limited for the period covering 30th August 2021 to 30th August 2022 and the name of the lodger is Engineer Saleh Mamman. The second column is on January 23, 2022, being N5 million payment deposited by Mintedge Nigeria Limited to cover from 30th August 2021 to 30th August 2022,” the witness explained.

“The third column is March 9, 2022, and the amount is N2.5 million, payment by Abdullahi Suleiman and it is to cover the period of 30th August 2021 to 30th August 2022 for Engineer Saleh Mamman.

“And the last one is on May 10, 2022, and the amount is N7.5 million, deposited by A.I.J Global Tools Limited over the period covering 30th August 2021 to 30th August 2022 and the name of the lodger is Engineer Saleh Mamman,”

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The witness added that Saleh’s booking in the resort was just a one-bedroom rent, with payments through the resort’s UBA account.

The EFCC is prosecuting Mamman on a 12-count charge for conspiring to launder money to the tune of N33,804,830,504.73.

James Omotosho adjourned the case for continuation until January 13, 2025.

Apart from Mamman, Olu Agunloye, a minister of power and steel under former president Olusegun Obasanjo, was also remanded in Kuje prison over an allegation of fraud concerning the Mambilla power project fund.

Agunloye was granted a N50 million bail in January.