KEY POINTS
- Energy Commission DG Abdullahi Mustapha resumed duty after an EFCC invitation over alleged N500 billion fraud.
- ECN insists Mustapha was not arrested but attended the EFCC engagement voluntarily as a public servant.
- Former Power Minister Saleh Mamman was sentenced to 75 years for fraud linked to the Mambilla project.
Abdullahi Mustapha was back at his desk Thursday. The director-general of the Energy Commission of Nigeria arrived at the agency’s Abuja headquarters in an ash-colored SUV, dressed in a white kaftan and cap, joined staff briefly in prayers at the reception area and returned to work, days after reports broke that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had him in custody over an alleged N500 billion fraud and money laundering investigation.
The ECN moved quickly to manage the narrative. In a statement released shortly after his resumption, the commission said Mustapha was not arrested. “He honoured an invitation extended to him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in line with due process and his respect for constituted authorities,” the statement read. The commission added that he attended voluntarily “as a responsible public servant committed to transparency and accountability.”
The EFCC told a different story. A source cited by a Nigerian newspaper said the agency had Mustapha in custody and that investigations were ongoing. “We have arrested the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, over alleged money laundering offences. He is currently in our custody, and investigations are ongoing,” the source said. The EFCC spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment as of Friday morning.
What the probe is about
The alleged funds under investigation are estimated at N500 billion. The ECN urged the public to avoid speculation and allow relevant institutions to carry out their work, noting that the matter remains at the investigation stage. “Every individual is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction,” the commission said.
Mustapha was appointed ECN director-general by President Bola Tinubu in October 2023. He previously worked with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and served as a technical adviser at the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology. The ECN coordinates national energy planning and promotes renewable and sustainable energy development policy across Nigeria.
A sector under scrutiny
The development lands in the middle of a broader crackdown on financial misconduct in Nigeria’s power sector. On Tuesday, the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced former Power Minister Saleh Mamman to 75 years in prison for corruption linked to the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.
That sentence, combined with the Mustapha probe, signals an intensifying anti-corruption push targeting senior figures across Nigeria’s energy establishment. Both cases are now unfolding in parallel, with the EFCC at the center of each.
