Malami Denies Bribery Claims Over $200M Sunrise Settlement

Abubakar Malami, the former Attorney General of Nigeria, rejected allegations of bribery concerning a $200 million settlement with Sunrise Power, promoted by Leno Adesanya. This response followed findings from an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal, which ruled on September 16 that the 2020 settlement and its addendum were products of corruption and unenforceable.

The tribunal's 616-page final award indicated that Malami and Adesanya had reached a corrupt deal, with Malami acting against Nigeria's interests. Malami, through his Special Assistant on Media, Mohammed Bello Doka, denied any personal financial gain from the arrangement.

He explained that the settlement aimed to resolve a long-standing dispute that risked exposing Nigeria to multibillion-dollar claims. The tribunal found that the agreements lacked presidential approval and were unenforceable due to corruption.

No payments were made after former President Muhammadu Buhari refused to approve the settlement.