How Agunloye forged $6bn Mambilla Power contract document – Witness

A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the contract document used to award the controversial $6 billion Mambilla Power Project was forged.

The witness, Umar Babangida, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), testified on Monday during cross-examination before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie. He is the third prosecution witness (PW3) in the case.

Agunloye is facing an amended seven-count charge bordering on corruption and the alleged fraudulent award of the multi-billion-dollar contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL) in 2003.

Babangida told the court that the EFCC investigation revealed that the contract award letter dated May 22, 2003, purportedly issued by Agunloye, was not genuine.

“I wrote the investigation report tendered before this court. In the course of investigation, we found out that while serving as minister, Agunloye awarded a contract for the Mambilla project to SPTCL on May 22, 2003. The contract letter has also been presented before this court,” he said.

When questioned by defence counsel, Adeola Adedipe, on whether the EFCC compared the letter with an original version, the witness insisted that the document was fraudulent on its own merit.

“The award document was a false representation of itself. It contains false information and misrepresentation of facts. I did not compare it with another document because the document itself was tendered as a certified true copy,” Babangida stated.

The witness told the court that the alleged contract award did not go through proper approval channels and was never approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Records obtained from FEC minutes showed that 40 ministers, including Agunloye, attended the FEC meeting of May 21, 2003, and no approval for any contract related to the Mambilla project was granted.

Babangida also confirmed that he interviewed former Attorney-General of the Federation Kanu Agabi and then President Olusegun Obasanjo during the course of investigation. He said the interviews were oral and no written statements were taken.

“I was not at the FEC meeting of May 21, 2003, but we obtained the minutes through a formal request. Apart from the defendant, 39 other ministers were present at the meeting,” he added.

Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the matter to December 1, 2025, for continuation of cross-examination of the prosecution witness.