Nigeria has won a major arbitration dispute against Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited over the controversial Mambilla hydropower project, with an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal in Paris dismissing the company’s $2.35 billion claim against the Federal Government.
The tribunal also ordered Sunrise Power and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria 75% of the legal fees and expenses incurred during the arbitration, amounting to $11.82 million.
The final award was issued on Thursday, September 17, 2026, according to TheCable.
The three-member tribunal dismissed Sunrise’s claim that Nigeria had breached its contractual obligations under a settlement agreement and an addendum relating to the dispute.
It also rejected the company’s demand for $400 million, comprising a $200 million settlement sum and another $200 million default payment.
The tribunal further ruled that Adesanya is bound by the arbitration agreement with Nigeria under the settlement agreement and addendum, giving it jurisdiction over Nigeria’s counterclaim against him and his firm.
Of the $11,819,506.51 awarded as Nigeria’s legal costs, $2.5 million is to be recovered from funds held in an escrow account with the ICC. The remaining $9,319,506.51 is payable by Sunrise and Adesanya, with interest accruing at 10% annually, compounded annually, from the date the final award is notified until payment is completed.
The arbitration costs were fixed at $1.6565 million, with Sunrise and Adesanya responsible for 75 per cent and Nigeria for the remaining 25 per cent.
The tribunal was chaired by Melaine van Leeuwen, with Stavros Brekoulakis and Simon Nesbitt serving as co-arbitrators.bNigeria’s legal team was led by Elizabeth Oger-Gross and Tolu Obamuroh, now of Paul Hastings LLP.
How the $2.35bn Mambilla Dispute Started
Sunrise commenced arbitration proceedings against Nigeria at the ICC International Court of Arbitration on October 10, 2017, seeking about $2.354 billion for an alleged breach of contract connected to a 2003 agreement for the construction of the 3,050-megawatt Mambilla hydroelectric power plant in Taraba State.
The proposed project was valued at about $6 billion and was structured on a build-operate-transfer basis.
The dispute later produced a second arbitration involving a 2020 settlement agreement between Sunrise and the Nigerian government. Sunrise sought $400 million under the settlement, alleging that Nigeria had failed to honour its obligations.
The validity of the original 2003 contract and the subsequent settlement has been contested by senior Nigerian political figures.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo told TheCable in 2023 that his former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, did not have the authority to commit the Federal Government to the $6 billion project without presidential approval.
Obasanjo said he had not authorised the agreement and claimed he had instructed Agunloye to abandon the proposal.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari also denied authorising the 2020 settlement agreement.
In a letter to Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi, Buhari said he had declined to approve the proposed settlement when it was presented to him on April 20, 2020, because he believed there was no basis for Sunrise’s claim.
