A Nigerian court has sentenced the country's former minister of power, Saleh Mamman, to 75 years in jail over corruption linked to major hydroelectric power projects.

Mamman served as minister of power from August 2019 to September 2021 under the administration of former president Muhammadu Buhari.

The court had last week found him and other defendants guilty on 12 charges involving the diversion of nearly $25m meant for the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects.

It ruled on Wednesday that the prison terms would run consecutively, bringing the total sentence to 75 years. The former minister, 68, was not in court during sentencing.

“The sheer greed of the defendant and his comrades in crime is nothing but a downright shameful thing,” Justice James Omotosho was quoted as saying by a local news outlet.

The judge also ordered that all monies and properties recovered from the former minister be forfeited to the government.

The charges against the former minister were pressed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).