Olu Agunloye, former Minister of Power and Steel, admitted in a statement to investigators that he knew the owner of Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited before his appointment as minister, a Federal High Court in Abuja heard on Wednesday.
This was disclosed by a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the former minister, who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the alleged fraudulent award of the $6 billion Mambilla Power Project contract.
At the resumed hearing before Jude Onwuegbuzie, Justice of the Federal High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja, Umar Hussein Babangida, EFCC’s Third Prosecution Witness (PW3), told the court that Agunloye acknowledged in his extra-judicial statement that he was aware of Leno Adesanya, owner of Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited, before becoming Minister of Power.
Agunloye is being prosecuted by the EFCC on an amended seven-count charge bordering on official corruption and the alleged fraudulent award of the $6 billion Mambilla Power Project contract to Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited.
According to a statement by Dele Oyewale, EFCC’s Spokesman, under cross-examination by Adeola Adedipe, defence counsel, the EFCC investigator confirmed that the former minister’s statement to the commission contained an admission regarding his knowledge of Adesanya.
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Responding to a question on whether Agunloye knew the contractor’s owner before his appointment, Babangida said: “Yes, my lord. It is contained on the right side of Page 4, line 11 of the statement.”
The witness then read from the defendant’s extra-judicial statement dated May 16, 2023, which was admitted in evidence and marked Exhibit 3O.
According to the statement: “I have known Leno Adesanya, or rather I knew of him before I became minister. I have never met him before he came to the ministry in 2002 to push for the Mambilla project, which started in 2000.”
When further asked whether he personally knew Agunloye, the witness answered in the negative, explaining that his knowledge of the former minister was strictly official and arose in the course of his investigative duties with the EFCC.
Agunloye is accused of irregularities in the award of the contract for the Mambilla Hydropower Project, one of Nigeria’s largest and most ambitious power generation projects, valued at $6 billion.
The prosecution alleges that the contract was fraudulently awarded to Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited during Agunloye’s tenure as minister.
After the day’s proceedings, Jude Onwuegbuzie adjourned the matter to March 11, 12 and 16, 2026, for continuation of the hearing.
