President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed appreciation to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for its investigation into the alleged fraudulent award of a $6 billion contract for the construction of the 3,960MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL). The Commission’s investigations were pivotal to the federal government’s September 17, 2026 victory over the contractor at the International Arbitration Tribunal under the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC, in Paris.
In celebrating the win, the President commended the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, and the entire team at the Federal Ministry of Justice, as well as the FRN defence team led by Ms Elizabeth Oger-Gross and Mr Tolu Obamuroh of Paul Hastings LLP for their professional and excellent defence of the country. He also thanked former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the late President Muhammadu Buhari, who testified in the case that traces back to an irregular 2003 contract to build a 3,050MW hydroelectric plant in Taraba State under a build-operate-transfer model, noting that the Federal Executive Council never authorised the contract.
Tinubu further acknowledged other witnesses, including former Ministers Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, and Suleiman Adamu, as well as the experts who participated in defending Nigeria’s interest. He commended the National Security Adviser for his support and the EFCC for its investigation into the case, assuring that while Nigeria remains committed to partnering with genuine investors and honouring legal obligations, it will continue to strongly defend against opportunistic claims instituted against its commonwealth. “Today’s ICC ruling clears the single biggest legal hurdle that has paralysed the Mambilla hydro power project for years,” he said.
The Tribunal, ruling in favour of the country, rejected SPTCL’s demand for $680 million as a settlement sum and interest in respect of another arbitration in which the company is claiming over $2.7 billion in compensation and interest relating to disputes associated with the Mambilla project. The original contract was awarded on May 22, 2003, by then Minister of Power Olu Agunloye to SPTCL on a “Build, Operate and Transfer” basis.
EFCC investigations established that the former minister awarded the contract without the approval of the National Executive Council, then chaired by former President Obasanjo, making the award inconsistent with federal government procedure. The probe also uncovered favouritism, noting that SPTCL owner Leno Adesanya and the former minister are longtime associates, and that in August 2019, SPTCL transferred N3.6 million to the former minister’s Guaranty Trust Bank account. These irregularities led to the contract’s revocation by the Muhammadu Buhari administration and the subsequent prosecution of Agunloye on a seven-count charge of fraudulent contract award and official corruption. Agunloye has been on trial since January 10, 2024, before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the FCT High Court, Apo, Abuja, even as SPTCL had dragged the federal government to arbitration seeking compensation for a contract the Tribunal found was never validly awarded.