MORE MAMBILLA CONTRACT REVELATIONS: How Government of Nigeria was saved nearly $1.0 billion USD – EFCC witness
16 March ’26
The extensive renovation works in the FCT High Court Chambers in Apo District Abuja again caused disruptions on Manday, 16 March 2026 in the FCT Judicial Division. Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie had to leave his Court 30 to Court 14 because of renovation works. He eventually called the Mambilla trial at 12.30 pm. This lasted till 3 pm until the Defence closed its cross-examination of the EFCC star witness, Mr Umar Babangida, also known as PW3.
In the last day of his cross-examination, PW3 made more revelations, the most startling of which was that the Defendant saved the Government of Nigeria a huge sum of $900,000,000 (nine hundred million US Dollars) by awarding the 21 May 2003 Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project as a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract with Government *equity of not more than 10%* (ten percent). This is a far cry from the “no more than 25%” equity accepted by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo and the 35% equity proposed by the immediate past Minister of Power before Dr Olu Agunloye, the Defendant in this case. However, in a noteworthy move, after calculating and presenting to the court how this figure was arrived at, PW3 went on to say: “the Defendant caused the $900 million saving for Federal Government by his unilateral decision.”
In an attempt to explain the differences in the multiple versions of the “Minutes of 21 May 2003 Meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC)” submitted by him, Mr Babangida (PW3) told the court that “Exhibit 3D has Paragraphs 13, 14, and 15, while “Exhibit 3K has Paragraph 14 only”. PW3 also admitted that the Defendant, in his extra judiciary Statement, advised him and other EFCC investigation officers to meet with other members of the 2003 FEC still alive to get the complete picture of what happened at the 21 May 2003 FEC meeting, but he did not. He said that he interviewed only the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was the then Chairman of FEC.
Under further cross-examination, PW3 admitted that Mr Jide Sotinrin, another prosecution witness did not tell him that the monies (N3.6 million in August 2019, N500,000 in October 2019 and N1.1 million in December 2019) Sotinrin transferred to the Defendant’s Bank account were gratifications from Mr. Leno Adesanya, the CEO of Sunrise and Company. But PW3 claimed the monies were retroactive bribes for the Mambilla contract awarded in May 2003 paid to Agunloye over 16 years after he had ceased to be a Minister or public officer. Also, PW3 admitted that the Defendant told him that he had health issues in 2019 and that his son needed medical surgery, but he did not contact the Defendant’s son or those who he reported received payments from the Defendant’s account to find out the details as an investigator.
Mr Babangida, PW3 told the court that he could not remember when the Procurement Act was enacted but he confirmed when told in court that it was in 2007, four years after the Mambilla Power Project contract was awarded. He also told court that he was not aware of any Ministerial Tenders Board but admitted that there was an Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee on the Mambilla project. The defence closed his cross-examination, and the judge adjourned the case until 12.00 pm, Monday, 30 March 2026
John@AgoyiNews. 16 – 3 – 2026
