President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has hailed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for its role in Nigeria’s victory over Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, SPTCL, at the International Arbitration Tribunal.
The President said the Commission’s investigation into the alleged fraudulent $6 billion contract for the 3,960 megawatts Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station was pivotal to the victory recorded on September 17, 2026.
The International Arbitration Tribunal sitting under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC, in Paris, ruled in favour of the Federal Government. In its ruling, the Tribunal rejected the $680 million damages demanded by SPTCL as settlement and interest in respect of another arbitration where the company is claiming over $2.7 billion in compensation. The claims relate to disputes associated with the construction of the 3,960MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power project in Taraba State.
President Tinubu, in a statement celebrating the victory, commended the efforts of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, and the entire team at the Federal Ministry of Justice. He also lauded the Federal Republic of Nigeria defence team led by Ms Elizabeth Oger-Gross and Mr Tolu Obamuroh, both of Paul Hastings LLP, for their professional and excellent defence of the country.
The President commended the patriotism of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and late President Muhammadu Buhari who testified in the case. According to him, the case dated back to an illegal 2003 contract to build a 3,050-megawatt hydroelectric plant under a build-operate-transfer model which was never authorised by the Federal Executive Council.
He thanked other witnesses in the case, including former Ministers Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, and Suleiman Adamu, and the experts, for defending Nigeria’s interest. President Tinubu also commended the National Security Adviser for his support and the EFCC for its investigation into the matter.
He said while Nigeria remains committed to partnering with genuine investors and honouring its legal obligations, it will continue to defend opportunistic claims instituted against its commonwealth. The President noted that the ICC ruling has cleared the single biggest legal hurdle that has paralysed the Mambilla hydropower project for years.
The Mambilla project was awarded on May 22, 2003, by former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited on a Build, Operate and Transfer basis.
Investigations by the EFCC established that the former minister awarded the contract without the approval of the Federal Executive Council then chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The anti-graft agency found that the award was inconsistent with Federal Government procedure on contract awards and was suffused with favouritism.
Investigations further revealed that the owner of the company, Leno Adesanya, and the former minister are old time friends. The EFCC also uncovered that in August 2019, SPTCL transferred the sum of N3,600,000 to the former minister’s Guaranty Trust Bank account number 0022530926.
The victory now paves the way for the Federal Government to progress with the implementation of the long-delayed Mambilla power project.
