In a sequence of events that captures the full operational theatre of Nigeria's anti-corruption apparatus, former Power Minister Saleh Mamman was first sentenced to 75 years in prison for laundering 33.8 billion naira — approximately $24.6 million — and then arrested several days later. The conviction happened in absentia, suggesting that the minister was aware enough of the proceedings to absent himself from them, which is either a sophisticated legal strategy or the most expensive game of hide-and-seek in Nigerian history.

The case has been widely described as a 'rare high-profile conviction,' a phrase that, in the context of Nigerian anti-corruption enforcement, functions simultaneously as praise and indictment. Rare. High-profile. Conviction. Three words that ideally should not constitute a landmark achievement for a country that has been fighting official corruption with institutional urgency since approximately always. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been in operation since 2003 and the rarity of outcomes remains a feature of public commentary rather than historical footnote.

The conviction has nonetheless rekindled genuine debate about selective enforcement — specifically, whether Nigeria's anti-corruption machinery functions as an accountability mechanism or as a tool deployed against those who have fallen out of political favour. Mamman's defenders and critics are united in at least one observation: 75 years is a very long sentence for a country where longer-serving offenders have occasionally walked free with a fine and a handshake.