Olu Agunloye, a former minister of power and steel development, entered a not guilty plea to a seven-count amended indictment that was brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration employed Agunloye as a Minister from 1999 to 2003. Due to his suspected involvement in a $6 billion scam, he was re-arraigned before trial judge Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory’s High Court in Apo on Monday.
According to the EFCC, the defendant unlawfully granted a contract for the building of the 3,960 mw Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a Build, Operate, and Transfer basis while he was in power as a Minister.
The court was informed by the anti-graft agency that Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited was awarded the contract without any financial support, approval, or budgetary provisions.
Additionally, it was claimed that Agunloye had corruptly accepted N3.6 million in kickbacks from the business he gave the contract to.
The EFCC claims that through a person named Jide Abiodun Sotinrin, the former Minister received approximately N5.212 million from SPTCL and Sunrise Power promoter Leno Adesanya.
The defendant, who had previously held the position of Minister of State for Defense, argued that he was innocent of the charges, which included corruption, forgery, and fraudulent contract award.
Justice Onwuegbuzie allowed him to retain the N50m bail the court previously gave him on January 11, 2024, when he was first arraigned by the EFCC.
The prosecution’s second witness, PW-2, Mr. Adewale Agunbiade, a former bank compliance officer, was introduced soon after the re-arraignment.
During his cross-examination by the defendant’s attorney, Mr. Adeola Adedipe, SAN, the witness informed the court that he is no longer employed by the bank and that his current employer has not given him permission to continue providing the testimony he began on September 23, 2024.
He also informed the court that he had not received a witness summons to testify in the matter from the EFCC.
Furthermore, Agunbiade told the court that EFCC agents claimed that he was the one who created the case’s supporting documentation after he told them he was no longer employed by the bank in question.
The witness gave a negative response when asked if he had shown the court his identification card to prove that he was currently employed by another bank.
Justice Onwuegbuzie has postponed the matter’s next hearing until February 24 in the interim.