Colonel Adebisi Adesanya (retd.), serving as the third Prosecution Witness (PW3) in the trial of former Minister of Power Saleh Mamman over an alleged N33.8 billion fraud, testified before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja. Adesanya revealed that Mamman spent N20 million on hotel lodging, specifically at a resort, over the course of one year.
During his testimony on Tuesday, Adesanya disclosed that the N20 million used for lodging came from funds allocated for the Mambilla Hydro Power Project. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Mamman on a 12-count charge related to conspiracy and money laundering amounting to N33,804,830,503.73.
Adesanya, who is also the Chief Security Officer and owner of Sami Court Resort Limited—where Mamman allegedly stayed—explained during questioning by the prosecution counsel, A.O. Mohammed, that the resort functions as a serviced apartment. “Sami Court Resort Limited offers long-term lodging services, ranging from one month to a year. Guests only need to bring their clothes; everything else is serviced by the apartment,” he stated.
Adesanya further revealed that the EFCC invited him for questioning on September 6, 2023, regarding financial inflows into the resort’s United Bank for Africa (UBA) account between 2019 and 2021. He identified an invoice, marked Exhibit PWC, issued to Mamman after his payment of N20 million for lodging from August 30, 2021, to August 30, 2022.
“This is our company’s invoice issued after Engineer Saleh Mamman made a payment of N20 million for lodging and accommodation,” he confirmed.
Providing a breakdown of the payments, Adesanya said:
On September 6, 2021, Golden Bond Nigeria Limited deposited N5 million to cover lodging for Mamman from August 30, 2021, to August 30, 2022.
On January 23, 2022, Mintedge Nigeria Limited deposited another N5 million for the same period.
On March 9, 2022, Abdullahi Suleiman paid N2.5 million for the same lodging duration.
On May 10, 2022, A.I.J Global Tools Limited deposited N7.5 million, also for Mamman’s stay during that period.
Adesanya clarified that the N20 million covered only a single-bedroom rental at the resort and all payments were made through the resort’s UBA account. “The invoices reflect payment for one-bedroom rental for the period August 30, 2021, to August 30, 2022, totaling N20 million,” he said.
Following the testimony, Justice Omotosho adjourned the case to January 13, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.
