Nigeria Wins Landmark Arbitration Against Sunrise Power

On September 17, a Tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris ruled in favor of Nigeria against Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited and its principal, Leno Adesanya, in a significant arbitration concerning the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project. Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), announced that Nigeria will not be a target for predatory litigation, emphasizing that the tribunal's decision vindicated Nigeria's stance that Sunrise's claims should be entirely dismissed.

Sunrise had sought $400 million, including a default sum and interest, alongside a separate claim exceeding $2.7 billion. Fagbemi highlighted that the project has been stalled for over two decades due to Sunrise's ongoing legal actions, which began with a claimed Build-Operate-Transfer contract in 2003.

The tribunal found that previous settlement agreements were unenforceable due to corruption and lack of authority from the Nigerian officials who signed them, revealing a pattern of bribery linked to Adesanya.