An International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal has found that former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, failed to give the late President Muhammadu Buhari correct information on the Mambilla power project settlement and reached a corrupt deal with Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Ltd (Sunrise).
In its Final Award delivered on Thursday, the tribunal dismissed all of Sunrise’s claims against Nigeria and ordered the company and its promoter to refund $11.8 million in legal fees to the Federal Government.
Sunrise had demanded $680 million as a settlement sum and interest. The demand is linked to a separate arbitration in which the company is seeking more than $2.7 billion in compensation and interest over the 3,960MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State, a dispute dating back to 2003.
The tribunal also rejected Sunrise’s request for an order compelling Nigeria to pay $400 million, made up of a $200 million settlement sum and a $200 million default sum.
How the deal unfolded
The dispute centres on a Settlement Agreement signed on 2 January 2020, under which Nigeria was to pay Sunrise $200 million. An Addendum dated 25 March 2020 added a $200 million financial-default sanction, doubling Nigeria’s potential liability to $400 million.
The tribunal said the timing of the increase raised serious concerns, given Mr Adesanya’s testimony that Mr Malami and the then Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, solicited a bribe.
Mr Adesanya, a key witness for Sunrise, told the tribunal that he heard both men say Nigeria would initially pay half of the $200 million and release the balance after he had done “what is needed.” He said he made audio and video recordings of the exchange.
The tribunal said those recordings could have been significant, particularly in establishing the nature of the arrangement, but Sunrise and Mr Adesanya withheld them.
Buhari refused to approve
The tribunal found that Mr Malami repeatedly failed to secure Mr Buhari’s approval of the renegotiated agreement. In a handwritten note dated 20 April 2020, Mr Buhari withheld approval, saying the Federal Government did not have $200 million to pay Sunrise.
On 18 January 2021, the late president’s Chief of Staff wrote to Mr Malami conveying Mr Buhari’s handwritten rejection: “not approved.”
Despite the refusals, the tribunal found that Mr Malami kept pressing the case for the settlement in Sunrise’s favour, and that he “failed to provide President Buhari with the correct information.”
It also found that Mr Malami and Mr Adesanya were in direct contact on WhatsApp on several occasions, including when they were on opposing sides of the dispute.
The tribunal concluded that the evidence established a corrupt deal between the two men, making the Settlement Agreement and the Addendum “a product of corruption.”
Mr Malami did not appear before the tribunal to give evidence. The tribunal said he acted against Nigeria’s interest and was “motivated by other incentive(s).”
Why the agreements failed
The tribunal had separately held that the Settlement Agreement and Addendum did not bind Nigeria because they never received the required presidential approval. It added that, even without that finding, the agreements were unenforceable because they were products of corruption and contrary to Nigerian public policy.
That conclusion meant the tribunal did not have to decide whether the $200 million default provision was an unenforceable penalty, as Nigeria had argued.
It therefore rejected Sunrise’s claim that Nigeria breached the agreements, along with its claim for interest. Sunrise cannot now enforce the $400 million settlement against Nigeria.
READ ALSO:
- Abia: Police arrest 3 S-Squad officers over alleged extortion of 200 persons
- NSCDC Cell Deaths: SOJA Wants NHRC, Police, Medical Experts in Investigation
- Davido books National Theatre for three-night homecoming shows
- Mambilla: Tribunal Rules Malami, Adesanya Struck Corrupt Deal, Rejects Sunrise Power’s $400m Claim
- Tinubu, Macron Renew Nigeria-France Ties at Élysée Dinner
