Index to Nigerian Newspapers

Former Nigerian Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, has filed a motion to challenge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's (EFCC)'s powers to prosecute him for alleged $6 billion in contract fraud. The EFCC alleged that Agunloye illegally awarded a contract for the construction of a 3,960 MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station without any budgetary provision, approval, or cash backing. Agunloye was also alleged to have corruptly received a kickback of N3.6 million from the company he awarded the contract to. The defendant, who also served as a Minister of State for Defence, pleaded not guilty to the seven-count charge against him. At the resumed proceedings, the 76-year-old defendant queried the EFCC's powers to try him over the alleged offenses, arguing that the agency was bereft of both the investigative and prosecutorial powers under Sections 6, 7, and 46 of the EFCC Act, 2004 to initiate the case against him.