MAMBILLA UPDATE: The Melodrama continues as EFCC is unable to establish that Agunloye disobeyed the President
9 October 2025
The star witness of the EFCC, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Babangida, who said he has been serving as an EFCC Officer for 10 years, has finally recovered from the illness which prevented him from being cross-examined on the 18th of September 2025.
He was present at the FCT High Court today, Thursday, 9 October 2025 and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Adeola Adedipe, who led eight Defence lawyers to the court, immediately commenced the cross-examination process. However, in a surprising development, this star witness of EFCC, code-named PW3, was unable, under cross-examination, to establish that the former minister of power, Dr Olu Agunloye disobeyed the president as charged in court.
Today, the court sat promptly. The Suit CR/617/2023, referring to Federal Republic of Nigeria versus Olu Agunloye, was the first to be called. The Defence lawyer, Barrister Adedipe, SAN did not waste a moment to swing into action. He started to cross-examine PW3 but was able to take only two of the several points he had slated for cross-examination by the time the court adjourned for the day. The details on these two points are briefly narrated below:
*POINT1: “that the Defendant disobeyed the President”*
PW3 admitted that he wrote a report admitted as an Exhibit F by the court and upon which the defendant was charged. In the report, PW3 admitted that he wrote that the Defendant disobeyed the directive given by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The following scenes evolved.
Defence: Tell the court how the directive of the President to the Defendant was given. Was it in writing, by telephone or email, or verbally?
PW3: It was as written in the Minutes of the meeting of 21 May 2003 of the Federal Executive Council.
Defence: Which Minutes?
PW3: This one marked Exhibit E1 by the Court.
Defence: Show the court where in the Minutes it was written that the president gave a directive to the defendant
PW3: Ehm. Ehm. It is not there.
Defence: But why did you…
Prosecution: Objection, my Lord.
The judge had to resolve exchanges between the Defence and Prosecution lawyers and PW3 continued to answer questions.
PW3: The president did not specifically give a directive to the defendant.
Defence: Therefore, if the President did not specifically give a directive to the defendant, there cannot be a case of the defendant disobeying the President.
PW3: Correct.
The Defence, at this stage, moved the next point.
*POINT2: “that the Defendant and Mr. Leno Adesanya, owner of Sunrise, are very close associates”*
PW3 admitted that he wrote in his report admitted as an Exhibit F by the court that the defendant is a close friend and confidant of Mr. Leno Adsanya, the proprietor of Sunrise and Company Limited who was awarded the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project Contract as a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis in May 2003. The highlights of the cross examination are detailed below:
Defence: You told the court that the defendant is a close associate of Mr. Leno Adesanya, the proprietor of Sunrise and Company Limited.
PW3: Yes, my Lord.
Defence: But the Defendant told you that he never met Mr. Adesanya before he came to his Office at the Ministry of Power and Steel in November 2002 to follow up on his bid for the Mambilla Power Project, and that he had only met Adesanya twice after he left office as Minister in May 2003; once in 2014 (eleven years after leaving office) and again in 2018 (fifteen years after leaving office)
PW3: No. He did not tell me so.
Defence: Mr Umar Babangida, you had earlier tendered Exhibit E3 which said that the Defendant told you so. Please see Exhibit E3 and read out the marked paragraphs to the court.
Prosecution: Objection. Objection, my Lord. The Defence lawyer should not be allowed to use Exhibit E3 to make PW3 contradict himself. PW3 should not be allowed to read the marked paragraphs from Exhibit E3.
The judge asked the lawyers to address the court on this contention. The judge checked the references and then ruled that PW3 should read the selected paragraphs. PW3 accordingly read the paragraphs confirming that the Defendant did say that he never met Mr Adesanya before November 2002 and had met after leaving office only two times, in 2014 and 2018. After this, the Judge called for adjournment to allow other cases in the court to be treated. The court, therefore, adjourned to 3rd, 10th and 12th of November 2025 and 1st December 2025 for the continuation of the cross examinations.
Johnston Saliu. Abuja.
9 October 2025
