Former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr. Olu Agunloye, has told the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) deliberately misrepresented facts about his role in the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project to tarnish his reputation.
Testifying in a defamation suit he filed against the EFCC, Agunloye alleged that a publication by the agency titled “EFCC Arraigns Agunloye Over $6 Billion Fraud” was misleading and defamatory. He is seeking a court order declaring the publication false, a public apology, and ₦1 billion in damages.
Under cross-examination by EFCC counsel Dr. Wahab Shittu, Agunloye said the project in question was a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) initiative awarded in 2003 at no cost to the federal government. He insisted the contract received presidential approval from then-President Olusegun Obasanjo before being presented to the Federal Executive Council.
Agunloye rejected EFCC’s claim that he awarded an unapproved $6bn contract or accepted a ₦5 million bribe years later, describing the allegations as a calculated attempt to portray him as corrupt.
He clarified that the international arbitration currently facing the government stems from a different version of the Mambilla contract awarded in 2017 under President Muhammadu Buhari, not the one he handled.
Responding to Obasanjo’s public denial of giving approval, Agunloye said the former president waited 20 years to dispute the facts—despite receiving confirmation from his own legal associate, Afe Babalola, in 2005 that the 2003 contract was properly awarded.
Agunloye concluded that his name and legacy were being unfairly targeted, stating: “The only property I have is my name, and they tried to destroy it.”
