A federal court jailed Nigeria's former power minister for 75 years. He didn't show up. His lawyer didn't know where to find him. Interpol has been called.

Saleh Mamman served as Nigeria's Minister of Power from August 2019 to September 2021. During that time, roughly N33.8 billion earmarked for the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects moved out of the federal treasury. It went through shell companies and bureau de change operators into properties and foreign accounts. Nigeria stayed in darkness.

On Wednesday morning, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja handed down a 75-year prison sentence. Consecutive counts. No option of fine on ten of them. The sentence starts running from the day of Mamman's arrest. The day hasn't come yet. Mamman wasn't in court. His own lawyer told the judge he hadn't been able to reach him since Tuesday. He didn't have a number that connected.

Omotosho ordered every security agency in Nigeria to find the man. Then he ordered Interpol.

The Mambilla project was designed to generate over 3,000 megawatts, which would be transformative for a country that currently generates less than 5,000 megawatts for 220 million people. The project has been promised since the 1970s. It has never been built. Now a court has found that the minister responsible for power stole the funds meant to move it forward. Omotosho said it plainly from the bench. He noted that the former minister had lived well while in office. Then he said: "Little wonder that Nigerians have remained in darkness till today."

The conviction follows a pattern you'll recognise. Under Buhari, Mamman was untouchable. He was arraigned in July 2024, more than three years after leaving office, then spent nearly two years in trial proceedings before finally skipping out. The case against Diezani Alison-Madueke ran a similar timeline. So did James Ibori's, before the British courts stepped in. Nigerian anti-corruption trials rarely move quickly, and by the time they do, the accused has had time to make arrangements.

What happened on Wednesday is real. The EFCC brought 17 witnesses and 43 exhibits. The judge reviewed them and found Mamman guilty on all 12 counts beyond reasonable doubt. The conviction is not in dispute. What's in dispute is whether it matters.

A sentence of 75 years that starts on the day of arrest, and the man hasn't been arrested, is a sentence that currently exists only on paper. The properties the court ordered forfeited will be processed. The Interpol red notice will be issued. The security agencies will issue statements. And somewhere, a man who stole billions meant to light Nigerian homes is deciding which country to call next.

The last time a sitting or former Nigerian minister was convicted, sentenced, and actually jailed by a Nigerian court was not a moment that comes easily to mind. Convictions happen. Sentencing happens. Prison is rarer.

You might already know someone who sat in darkness last night because of what Saleh Mamman did. You might have been that person yourself. The court has now told you his name, found him guilty, and sent Interpol to find him. Whether any of that produces a reckoning is the question Nigeria has been asking for fifty years.