- Court grants EFCC approval to amend charges against former Power Minister, Olu Agunloye.
- Agunloye faces allegations of forgery, corruption, and noncompliance tied to the Mambilla power project.
- Next hearing scheduled for February 3 to address the amended charges and rearraignment.
EKO HOT BLOG reports that the case involves allegations of forgery, noncompliance with a presidential directive, and corruption linked to the Mambilla power plant project in Taraba State.
The EFCC accuses Agunloye of awarding a contract on May 22, 2003, for the “Construction of a 3,960-megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a build, operate, and transfer basis” to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without proper budgetary allocation, approval, or financial backing.
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Additionally, the commission claims to have traced questionable payments from the company to the former minister’s accounts during his tenure under former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Agunloye has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ruled on January 23, 2025, that the EFCC’s request to amend the charges was valid under Sections 216 and 217 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.
The judge emphasised that such amendments are permissible at any stage before judgment and do not require prior permission from the court. He dismissed Agunloye’s claim that the amendment aimed to disadvantage him and set February 3 for the defendant’s rearraignment on the updated charges.
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Agunloye’s counsel, Adeola Adedipe SAN, had opposed the amendment, arguing that it constituted an overreach and referenced a declarative right established in a related ruling by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court.
Adedipe asserted that this right, enforceable under Section 287(3) of the 1999 Constitution, should prevent the inclusion of Leno Adesanya, a key figure in the amended charges.
However, EFCC counsel Abba Muhammed SAN countered that the motion to amend complied with the ACJA, urging the court to grant the prosecution’s request to record and serve the amended charges. The judge ultimately sided with the prosecution, allowing the amendment to proceed.
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