A $6 billion power contract that has shadowed Nigeria’s energy ambitions for more than two decades has ended in a legal victory for the country, removing a cloud that hung over a hydroelectric project capable of powering millions of Nigerian homes. EFCC investigations, according to the commission’s spokesperson, were pivotal to the Federal Government’s victory on September 17.
The International Arbitration Tribunal under the ICC in Paris ruled in favor of Nigeria, rejecting $680 million in damages that Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited had demanded as a settlement. That rejection is only part of the exposure Nigeria avoided. The company is also claiming over $2.7 billion in compensation and interest in a separate arbitration, with both disputes tied to the 3,960 MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale disclosed the details in a statement on Friday in Abuja. Tinubu, he confirmed, personally celebrated the outcome. The president specifically lauded the EFCC for investigating the fraudulent contract award and said Nigeria remains committed to partnering with genuine investors, with assurances that the government would continue to honor its legal obligations to credible partners.
The president vowed to defend all opportunistic claims against the nation’s commonwealth and said the ruling cleared the biggest legal hurdle that had paralyzed the Mambilla project for years, according to Oyewale’s statement. Two former presidents also drew praise. Tinubu commended former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the late President Muhammadu Buhari, both of whom testified in the case.
The project was awarded on May 22, 2003, by former Power Minister Olu Agunloye, who gave Sunrise Power a build, operate, and transfer contract, but the EFCC found that the award lacked approval of the Federal Executive Council, then chaired by Obasanjo. That gap in authorization became a central plank in Nigeria’s defense before the tribunal. Investigations also showed favoritism, as Agunloye and Sunrise owner Leno Adesanya are described as old acquaintances.
The tribunal also ordered Sunrise Power and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria 75 percent of the legal fees and expenses incurred during the arbitration. The financial recovery does not stop there. Sunrise and Adesanya owe Nigeria $11,819,506.51 in legal costs, with $2.5 million drawn from ICC escrow and the remaining $9,319,506.51 carrying 10 percent yearly interest.
In its decision, the three-member panel dismissed Sunrise’s claim that Nigeria breached its contractual obligations under a settlement agreement and an addendum entered into by both parties. The ruling covers a project originally proposed as a solution to Nigeria’s chronic electricity deficit. The 2003 contract was for the development of a 3,050 MW Mambilla hydropower plant, with the project estimated to cost about $6 billion.
Sunrise had commenced arbitration proceedings at the ICC International Court of Arbitration on October 10, 2017, seeking a $2.354 billion award for breach of contract over the 2003 agreement. Nearly nine years of proceedings preceded Wednesday’s outcome. Nigeria was represented by a legal team led by Elizabeth Oger-Gross and Tolu Obamuroh of Paul Hastings LLP.
Former ministers also received recognition. Tinubu thanked former ministers Babatunde Fashola and Suleiman Adamu for participating actively in the country’s defense of the arbitration case. Expert witnesses who helped defend Nigeria’s position were similarly acknowledged in the presidential statement, according to Oyewale. The president’s praise was specifically directed at the EFCC for investigating the fraudulent contract award.
The ruling removes a legal obstacle, but no financing plan or construction timeline for the Mambilla project has been announced. Taraba State communities that would benefit from the hydroelectric plant remain without clarity on when construction will begin. The Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project has been in development for decades and has been the subject of contractual, financial, and legal disputes.
One dispute, however, is now closed. Agunloye faces separate criminal proceedings in Nigeria. The EFCC found that Agunloye awarded the contract without Federal Executive Council approval, and investigations pointed to favoritism between the former minister and Sunrise’s owner. In August 2019, according to the EFCC statement, Sunrise Power transferred N3.6 million to Agunloye’s Guarantee Trust Bank account.
The three-member arbitration panel was chaired by Melanie van Leeuwen, with Stavros Brekoulakis and Simon Nesbitt serving as co-arbitrators. Their award was issued on September 17. EFCC investigations had established that the former minister awarded the contract without the required approval, a finding that proved decisive before the Paris tribunal.
Agunloye is currently before a Nigerian court on separate charges. The EFCC’s position is that the contract lacked the Federal Executive Council approval that was required under the Obasanjo administration. His prosecution continues regardless of the arbitration outcome in Paris. The criminal case and the international arbitration ran on parallel tracks for years.
What the September 17 ruling does not resolve is the second, larger arbitration. Sunrise is still claiming over $2.7 billion in compensation and interest in that separate proceeding, meaning Nigeria’s legal exposure on the Mambilla project is not yet fully extinguished. The government has not said when that second case will be decided.
The three-member tribunal issued its final award on September 17, 2026, in favor of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, closing a chapter that began with a contract signed more than two decades ago. The Mambilla arbitration win is now part of Nigeria’s public record. Whether the dam itself will ever be built remains an open question.
