Hours after ex-minister of power, Mamman Saleh was slammed with 75 years jail term over fraud of N33 billion, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested Mustapha Abdullahi, director-general of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, over alleged money laundering offences involving more than N500 billion.
Abdullahi was arrested in Abuja on Wednesday and is currently being held in the custody of the anti-graft agency for further investigation.
In October 2023, President Bola Tinubu appointed Abdullahi as the DG and CEO of the commission.
Abdullahi was appointed after he had worked for more than 10 years in the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
In December 2025, Network Against Corruption and Drug Trafficking (NACAT), a civil society organisation, petitioned Tinubu, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), over alleged corruption in the commission.
The CSO accused the ECN DG of engaging in what it described as a “well-coordinated and brazen scheme” involving the illegal award and payment of solar streetlight contracts worth several hundreds of millions to five companies allegedly owned and controlled by the same individuals.
The CSO alleged that all the five companies were registered within a single week in late October and early November 2023, shared similar addresses in Abuja, and allegedly had the same directors.
NACAT alleged that Nigeria’s procurement laws were brazenly violated in the award of the contracts, adding that the action is a betrayal of public trust.