A former minister of power, Sale Mamman, has been arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with an alleged N22 billion fraud.
Mamman, who was a minister under President Muhammadu Buhari from 2019 to 2021, was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday and is being detained at the headquarters of the anti-graft agency in Abuja.
Sources say the arrest is connected to investigations into alleged corruption in the execution of some power projects.
Mamman is accused of conspiring with staff of the ministry in charge of the accounts of the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydro Electric Power projects to divert N22 billion and share among themselves.
The investigations uncovered properties in Nigeria and overseas allegedly linked to the suspects, while millions of naira and dollars have reportedly been recovered.
President Muhammadu Buhari on September 1, 2021, sacked Mamman and Sabo Nanono, the minister of agriculture and rural development, in what was called a cabinet restructuring.