By Garba Shehu
There are good reasons why Leno Adesanya and his company, Sunrise Power Transition Company, lost their case and claim at the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC — an outcome that sparked nationwide celebrations across Nigeria.
Over the weekend, the ICC dismissed Sunrise’s $2.35 billion claim over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project. It also rejected the company’s $400 million settlement demand and instead ordered Sunrise and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria roughly $11.82 million in legal and other costs.
As the only journalist present with the Nigerian team at the tribunal’s January 15, 2025, sitting in Paris, I witnessed firsthand how Sunrise’s edifice of corruption, falsehood, and deceit collapsed in the meeting rooms of the Ritz Carlton Hotel.
Former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari stood as key witnesses in Nigeria’s defense against what amounted to a scheme similar to the notorious P&ID case — an attempt to use international arbitration to extract billions of dollars from Nigeria through fraud and deception. Other witnesses included former Buhari-era ministers Engineer Sulaiman Adamu and Babatunde Raji Fashola.
It was clear from day one that Sunrise would lose. None of the witnesses it produced held up under scrutiny — including a woman from Senegal alleged to have been used to cultivate a Nigerian government contact, reportedly as part of a broader pattern of cash and favors offered to officials.
At stake in Paris was an initial $660 million claim, with a second claim of $2.7 billion to follow — both based on allegations of failed contracts.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu personally called on the two former presidents and other key witnesses to help defend the nation against what he characterized as fraudsters whose method was to bribe their way into government contracts, then use arbitration to extract massive settlement sums. The previous year, the English Supreme Court had already saved Nigeria from a similar $11 billion extraction scheme, prompting Tinubu to vow: “Not again.”
Nigeria’s legal team in Paris was led by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.
How the Dispute Began
On May 21, 2003, the Federal Executive Council, FEC — chaired by then-President Olusegun Obasanjo — reviewed a memo proposing to award the Mambilla contract to Leno Adesanya’s company. The FEC declined to approve it, insisting that new power plant contracts must go through a competitive bidding process.
Remarkably, just one day later — on May 22, 2003, only seven days before the end of Obasanjo’s first term — the then-Minister of Power and Steel, Dr. Olu Agunloye, wrote to Adesanya suggesting a “preliminary approval” for Sunrise to take part in constructing the $6 billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station.
Sunrise had no track record and no meaningful assets to justify such an award. Documents presented to the tribunal showed that, according to Sunrise’s own filings with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the company reported zero turnover in 2017, 2018, and 2019, with total declared net assets of just ₦1,000,000. At the time it received the so-called “award,” the company’s financial position was even weaker — ₦318,685 as of December 3, 2004, and ₦270,370 as of December 31, 2005.
Also Read: Court hears details of contract manipulation on Mambilla Power project
On September 3, 2003, a new minister formally wrote to Adesanya confirming that the FEC had never approved the contract, meaning Sunrise had no valid agreement with the government at all. A new, proper tender process followed, and the contract was awarded to two Chinese firms, CGGC and CGC.
Later, during a meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Buhari requested financing for the Mambilla project through China Exim Bank and asked Xi to recommend credible contractors. Xi committed China’s support for the project.
Sunrise Fights Back
This is where Sunrise’s troubles for Nigeria began. The company demanded:
1. £33 million — for costs it claimed to have incurred “preparing for the execution of the project,” and
2. $1.2 billion — representing 20% of the project’s estimated $6 billion cost, framed as Sunrise’s “projected profit.”
To block the project from proceeding without it, Sunrise took two actions:
– Filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court against Nigeria’s Minister of Power, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the two Chinese contractors, CGGC and CGC.
– Sought a court order barring any development of the project except through Sunrise — or, alternatively, demanded $960 million in damages.
This litigation stalled the project for years, as China Exim Bank withheld funding — as any lender would — pending resolution of the legal dispute.
The Settlement Talks
To get the project moving again, Nigeria entered settlement negotiations with Sunrise, CGGC, and CGC. These talks, which began under Obasanjo’s successors, were later inherited by the Buhari administration.
In 2012, the Federal Ministry of Power signed a “General Project Execution Agreement” with Sunrise and another Chinese contractor Sunrise had brought in, Sinohydro. Then, on January 14, 2015, the Ministry signed a letter purporting to approve Sunrise’s role as “local content partner” on the project.
On November 9, 2019, Adesanya met in London with Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and the Minister of Water Resources. He was told clearly that any settlement would need presidential approval. At that meeting, Adesanya offered to settle for $500 million; Nigeria’s ministers countered with $100 million, based on Sunrise’s claimed expenses of $70–80 million.
After further negotiations, Nigeria’s Attorney-General and the Ministers of Power, Finance, and Water Resources agreed to propose $200 million as a full and final settlement — again, subject to presidential approval. Sunrise accepted this figure.
On March 25, 2020, a follow-up document — the “Addendum to the Terms of Settlement” — was signed between Sunrise and Nigerian representatives. This addendum effectively doubled Nigeria’s potential liability, adding another $200 million in the event of delayed payment.
Buhari Says No
On March 31, 2020, both the “Terms of Settlement” and the “Addendum” were presented to President Buhari for approval — for the first time. After reviewing them, he refused to sign. In a handwritten note dated April 20, 2020, Buhari rejected the deal, stating plainly: “FG [the Federal Government] hasn’t got USD 200m to pay [Sunrise].”
Despite repeated pressure, Buhari never accepted that Nigeria should pay $200 million — or more — to a company that had done nothing but produce an unauthorized contract document.
Frustrated, Sunrise launched a fresh arbitration claim against Nigeria, alleging a breach of the settlement terms, and demanded $680 million.
The Verdict — and What Comes Next
President Tinubu welcomed the tribunal’s ruling as the removal of the “biggest legal hurdle” facing the 3,960MW Mambilla project, calling it proof of Nigeria’s resolve not to bow to “predatory and exploitative claims by local and international entities and their enablers and funders.”
The next step, in the national interest — and in honor of the late President Buhari, whose commitment to the Mambilla project lasted until his death — is for President Tinubu to reconnect with President Xi Jinping and secure the long-promised Chinese funding to finally bring this power project to life.
