ICC Dismisses Sunrise's $3.38bn Mambilla Claim Over $500k Payment
The ICC tribunal on Thursday rejected Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited’s arbitration claim against Nigeria, removing a potential liability of over $3.38 billion related to the disputed Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project contract. The panel found that Sunrise promoter Leno Adesanya failed to provide documentary or witness evidence to support his claim that a $500,000 payment made on 30 January 2003 to Douglas Abubakar, then-wife of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, was a legitimate foreign-exchange transaction. The tribunal noted the payment raised “significant red flags” given Adesanya’s lobbying for the Mambilla project and the timing—less than four months before the alleged contract award—but said there was no proof that Atiku used his office to benefit Sunrise. Three later payments totalling about $15,000 from Adesanya’s aide to former Power Minister Olu Agunloye in 2019 were also examined, with no denial from the parties but insufficient evidence of corrupt intent. Nigeria had earlier settled the main claim for $200 million, with a 10% penalty for default; Sunrise’s additional $400 million claim, later grown to about $680 million with interest, was also dismissed. The ruling ends the arbitration but leaves corruption allegations unresolved. What does this mean for Nigerians? It shows how high-stakes infrastructure deals can become entangled in graft suspicions, and why transparency in contract awards matters for public trust and national finances.