The trial of former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, continued on Monday at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, Abuja, as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented its fifth prosecution witness.
Agunloye is being prosecuted before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie on an amended seven-count charge bordering on alleged official corruption and the fraudulent award of the $6 billion Mambilla Hydropower Project contract to Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited.
The fifth prosecution witness, Iliya John Iyakwari, told the court that he certified extracts of the minutes of a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held on May 21, 2003, following a request from the EFCC.
Iyakwari, an Assistant Director of Legal in the Federal Ministry of Justice currently serving as Assistant Legal Adviser in the Federal Ministry of Power, testified that the anti-graft agency wrote to the ministry in June 2023 seeking the FEC meeting extracts.
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According to him, the request was forwarded by the permanent secretary to the ministry’s legal services department, which subsequently obtained the required documents from the relevant department.
“The legal department wrote to the department that handles such records to provide the extract. After receiving the document, my legal adviser instructed me to certify the copy, and I forwarded the certified extract to the EFCC using the ministry’s official letterhead,” he told the court.
During the proceedings, the witness identified and confirmed the authenticity of the EFCC’s request letter and the ministry’s response, which were admitted as Exhibits EFCC 3J and EFCC 3K respectively.
Following the witness’s testimony, Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the matter until June 8, 2026, for cross-examination.
