EFCC Investigates $500,000 Payment Linked to Atiku's Ex

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has initiated an investigation into the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, focusing on a $500,000 payment made by Leno Adesanya, the project promoter, to Jennifer Douglas, the former wife of ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar. This payment, transferred in January 2003 from Adesanya’s company, China Castle Investments Limited, to Douglas’s account in the United States, was scrutinized by an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal during its resolution of a dispute over the 3,960-megawatt project in Taraba State.

The tribunal flagged the payment due to its timing, particularly as it occurred shortly before Olu Agunloye, then Minister of Power and Steel, awarded a Build-Operate-Transfer contract for the project to Sunrise Power. The EFCC has formed a special team, supervised by Chairman Ola Olukoyede, to investigate the financial transactions and relationships involved, examining a 620-page final award and related evidence.

Notably, neither Atiku nor Douglas provided supporting statements regarding the payment.