Mr. Bida, who the EFCC recently granted administrative bail, was scheduled to appear before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Thursday, July 3, 2025, to face the charges.
In a move that could undermine Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts, a judge of the Niger State High Court sitting in Minna has granted an ex parte order restraining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from arresting, arraigning, or prosecuting Mustapha Abubakar Bida—one of the defendants in the N33.8 billion corruption case involving former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman.
Mr. Bida, who the EFCC recently granted administrative bail, was scheduled to appear before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Thursday, July 3, 2025, to face the charges.
However, rather than honour the arraignment, he rushed to the Niger State High Court and obtained the controversial injunction from Justice Abdullahi Mikailu.
According to court documents seen by SaharaReporters, Justice Mikailu issued the interim injunction on Wednesday, July 2, restraining the EFCC “from arraigning or detaining the Applicant in total disregard of the Non-Prosecution Agreement between the Applicant and the Respondent.”
The order also barred the Commission “from further interfering with the fundamental right of the Applicant in any manner whatsoever capable of interfering with the subject matter of this suit pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion.”
The judge granted thus, “An order of Interim Injunction is hereby made restraining the Respondent by themselves, or their agents, servants and/or privies or howsoever otherwise described from arraigning or detaining the Applicant in total disregard of the Non-Prosecution Agreement between the Applicant and the Respondent Pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Motion in this suit.
“An Order of Interim Injunction is hereby made restraining the Respondent whether by themselves, or by their privies, servants, officers, privies / or howsoever described from further interfering with the fundamental right of the Applicant in any manner whatsoever capable of interring with the subject matter of this suit pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion in this suit.”
The suit—NSHC/MN/240/2025—was brought under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, and filed by Bida’s lawyer, A. L. Lemu, SAN, who cited Sections 35, 36, 37, and 46 of the Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
A legal analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the injunction as “jankara justice” (judicial action that is seen as shady or dubious) and a dangerous precedent in Nigeria’s fight against corruption.
While suspects have previously sought to restrain law enforcement agencies from arresting or detaining them, the source said this appears to be the first time a court has issued an injunction explicitly blocking a scheduled arraignment in a criminal trial.
“When the suspect was invited by the commission to officially receive copies of the charges and appear in court on Thursday, he rushed to a State High Court in Minna, Niger State, where he secured what can only be described as a jankara ex parte order to halt his arraignment,” the source said.
“This move is unprecedented in Nigeria’s criminal justice system. While it’s not uncommon for suspects to seek court orders restraining law enforcement agencies from making arrests, Mr. Bida and Justice Abdullahi Mikailu have now opened a troubling new chapter—one that could further delay and undermine the effective prosecution of corruption cases.”
Mr. Bida is one of eight individuals charged by the EFCC in a nine-count criminal suit before the FCT High Court. The case involves the alleged misappropriation of N33.8 billion during the tenure of Saleh Mamman as Minister of Power. Other defendants include Joseph Omotayo Adewunmi, Ben Nsikak, Stephen Ojo, Oladipo Adebowale, Michael Achua, and Ogunjobi Olusola.
The EFCC had previously accused the defendants of criminal conspiracy, money laundering, and diversion of public funds related to power sector contracts. Investigations allegedly revealed a network of shell companies and fictitious projects through which billions of naira were siphoned from federal coffers.
Charges Against Bida And Others
The charges against the defendants, including former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, and Bida, detail an elaborate scheme through which they allegedly conspired to defraud the Federal Government of over ₦31 billion between 2019 and 2022 using several private companies.
According to the first count, they collectively obtained a total of ₦31,070,541,349.64 under false pretences from the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.
Subsequent counts specify how this fraud was executed through individual transactions. In March 2021, the defendants, using a company named Breathable Investment Limited, allegedly secured ₦483,205,650 by falsely claiming it was for compensation, relocation, and resettlement of communities affected by the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Project (HEPP).
Similarly, in December 2019, another firm, First Class Construction and Project, was allegedly used to obtain ₦426,874,250, under the guise of payment for IPC No. 20 of the same project.
The fourth count alleges that the same First Class Construction and Project was again used to fraudulently obtain ₦635,470,900, also under the pretext of compensation for buildings and structures affected by the Zungeru project. In March 2021, ₦435,250,130 was allegedly siphoned through Fullest Utility Concept, supposedly for compensation related to building structures as coordinated by the Niger State resettlement committee.
Another sum of ₦481,017,780.60 was allegedly collected through Strong Field International in June 2021 for the supposed construction of laterite roads linking resettlement sites around the Zungeru project.
In May 2021, Mintedge Nigeria Limited allegedly received ₦398,215,345 under false pretence of continuing compensation payments to affected communities, while Prymint Investment Limited was allegedly used around the same period to divert ₦285,983,285, also under the guise of community compensation.
In addition to these financial transactions, the ninth count accuses some of the defendants of conspiring to forge a document in 2018 purporting to be an acceptance letter from Fullest Utility Concept Nigeria Limited for the award of a contract, thereby attempting to deceive the Federal Ministry of Power into believing the document was genuine.
