The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris has ruled in favour of Nigeria in the $2.35 billion arbitration brought by Sunrise Power over the Mambilla hydropower project.
The tribunal also ordered Sunrise Power and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria 75 per cent of its legal fees and expenses, amounting to $11.8 million.
Chronicle NG understands that the final award was issued on Thursday.
Tribunal Rejects Sunrise Claims
In a decision signed by the three-member panel, the tribunal dismissed Sunrise Power’s claim that Nigeria breached its contractual obligations under a settlement agreement and an addendum.
It also rejected the company’s demand for $400 million, comprising a $200 million settlement sum and another $200 million claimed as a default payment.
The tribunal further ruled that Adesanya is bound by the arbitration agreement with Nigeria under the settlement agreement and addendum.
It also affirmed its jurisdiction over Nigeria’s counterclaim against Adesanya and his firm.
Nigeria Awarded Legal Costs
The tribunal fixed Nigeria’s recoverable legal fees and expenses at $11,819,506.51.
Of that amount, $2.5 million will be recovered directly from funds held in escrow by the ICC and released after notification of the final award.
Sunrise Power and Adesanya must pay the remaining $9,319,506.51, together with interest at an annual rate of 10 per cent, compounded annually, from the date the final award was notified until full payment.
The arbitration costs, fixed at $1,656,500, will be shared, with Sunrise Power 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.
Nigeria was represented by lawyers led by Elizabeth Oger-Gross and Tolu Obamuroh, now of Paul Hastings LLP.
How the Mambilla Dispute Started
Sunrise Power commenced arbitration against Nigeria at the ICC International Court of Arbitration on October 10, 2017.
The company was seeking $2.354 billion over an alleged breach of contract relating to a 2003 agreement for the construction of a 3,050-megawatt hydropower plant in Mambilla, Taraba State.
The project was valued at about $6 billion and was to be developed under a build, operate and transfer arrangement.
A separate arbitration arose from a 2020 settlement agreement intended to resolve the dispute. Sunrise subsequently sought $400 million, arguing that Nigeria had failed to honour the settlement terms.
Obasanjo, Buhari Questioned the Agreements
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in an interview with TheCable in 2023, questioned the authority of his then Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, to award the 2003 contract to Sunrise.
Obasanjo said no minister had the authority to approve more than N25 million without express presidential consent and maintained that he never authorised the $6 billion project.
“When I was president, no minister had the power to approve more than N25 million without express presidential consent. It was impossible for Agunloye to commit my government to a $6 billion project without my permission and I did not give him any permission,” Obasanjo told reporters
He also said he had directed Agunloye to withdraw a memorandum on the project when it was presented to the Federal Executive Council in May 2003.
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 understood that ministers had engaged with Sunrise and other stakeholders but insisted that he never specifically instructed them to conclude a settlement agreement.
Buhari said the proposed settlement and addendum were presented to him on April 20, 2020, but that he declined to approve them because he believed there was no basis for Sunrise’s claim.
The latest ICC ruling brings a significant development in the long-running legal dispute over the Mambilla hydropower project.
