The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has described Nigeria’s victory in an arbitration brought by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited before an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal as a “complete and resounding vindication” of the country’s position.
In a statement issued in Abuja on September 21, 2026, Fagbemi said the tribunal, sitting in Paris, delivered its final award on September 17 in what he described as a landmark victory for the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the arbitration instituted by Sunrise and its principal, Mr. Leno Adesanya.
The dispute centred on the 3,050-megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, which Fagbemi described as one of the largest and most strategically important infrastructure projects in Nigeria’s history.Download Interactive Maps. Sunrise had demanded $400 million in the arbitration, comprising a $200 million settlement sum and another $200 million described as a default sum, in addition to interest at 10 per cent per annum compounded daily.
According to the Attorney-General, the demand was separate from Sunrise’s pending claim of more than $2.7 billion in another parallel arbitration.
Fagbemi said the Mambilla project had been held up for more than two decades by Sunrise’s litigation and arbitration against the Federal Government.
He traced the dispute to an alleged build, operate and transfer agreement claimed by Sunrise in 2003, followed by court proceedings in 2007 and subsequent arbitration proceedings.
He said financing for the project from the China Export-Import Bank was expressly dependent on the resolution of the disputes.Court Case Updates
“As a result, the Project has been unable to achieve financial close, depriving Nigeria and its people of the enormous economic benefits of 3,050 megawatts of clean, renewable hydroelectric power,” the statement said.
“The cost of this delay, measured in lost power generation, foregone industrial output, and continued energy poverty, is incalculable.”
According to Fagbemi, the ICC tribunal’s final award comprehensively favoured Nigeria, with Sunrise’s entire claim rejected.
He said the tribunal found that the Settlement Agreement and its Addendum were not binding on the Federal Government because the former Nigerian ministers who signed them did not have the requisite authority to commit the government without presidential approval.
The tribunal also found that the Settlement Agreement was the product of corruption and violated Nigerian public policy, rendering it unenforceable, according to the Attorney-General.Nigeria Business Law
Fagbemi said the tribunal made detailed findings concerning alleged corruption involving Adesanya and senior Nigerian government officials connected to the Mambilla project.
According to the statement, the tribunal found that Adesanya “had engaged in a decades-long campaign of bribery and corruption often involving very large payments to several senior Nigerian government officials connected to the Mambilla Project.”
The Attorney-General said the tribunal further found that the alleged corrupt scheme extended to the settlement agreements, with a “corrupt deal” reached between Adesanya and former senior Nigerian officials who signed the Settlement Agreement at the centre of the arbitration.
The statement also said the tribunal found that the promoter’s alleged pattern of corrupt dealings dated back to the origins of the Mambilla dispute and represented what it described as an established modus operandi involving financial incentives to influential Nigerian government officials. As a result of the ruling, Sunrise and Adesanya were ordered to bear 75 per cent of Nigeria’s legal fees and expenses, together with interest at 10 per cent per annum compounded annually, Fagbemi said.
He added that the tribunal expressed the hope that the cost order would deter Adesanya and his companies from pursuing what it described as further frivolous legal proceedings against Nigeria.Download Interactive Maps
The Attorney-General also acknowledged the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the President had consistently maintained that Nigeria should not be bound by fraudulently contrived contractual agreements or claims arising from them. “I also wish to express my immense appreciation to the President for ensuring the provision of necessary financial and logistic support for the effective defence of this matter,” Fagbemi said.
He reaffirmed that the Federal Ministry of Justice, under his leadership, would continue to protect the rule of law and defend Nigeria’s legal interests.
“We shall continue to provide sound legal advice and effective representation on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, ensuring that justice is served and the integrity of our nation upheld,” he said.