Mambilla Project: How $500,000 Went To Atiku's Wife - ICC Tribunal

By Victor Idajili 

Fresh details have emerged from the International Chamber of Commerce tribunal in Paris over the disputed Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.

The tribunal heard that Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, transferred $500,000 to Jennifer Douglas, wife of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in January 2003 months before a purported Build-Operate-Transfer contract for the 3,960MW Mambilla project was awarded to his company.

Adesanya, testifying before the tribunal, claimed the January 30, 2003 payment through his company, China Castle Investments Ltd, was a foreign-exchange transaction done for Atiku.

But the tribunal rejected the claim. It noted the "close connection in time between the moment the USD 500,000 payment was made to the wife of Vice-President Abubakar on 30 January 2003 and the alleged award of the BOT contract to Sunrise on 22 May 2003."

The panel said Adesanya failed to produce any documents to prove the forex deal - no naira payment record, exchange rate, instruction from Atiku or his aides, or correspondence showing commercial purpose.

Adesanya also told the tribunal he could not get Atiku or Douglas to corroborate his claim. He said Atiku did not want to be drawn into a dispute with his former boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo, who testified for Nigeria, while Douglas "would not even pick my call" despite being a close friend.

The case relates to Sunrise's claim for $680 million settlement and over $2.7 billion in compensation and interest over the Mambilla project.

The tribunal also faulted former Attorney General Abubakar Malami for his role in settlement negotiations.

According to the award, Malami and then Power Minister Saleh Mamman signed a January 2020 agreement committing Nigeria to pay Sunrise $200 million with 10 percent annual interest. A revised agreement two months later split payment into two $100 million installments, but added a $200 million penalty if Nigeria defaulted, with interest compounding daily.

The tribunal said it could not "discern any upside for Nigeria in the renegotiated terms" and that Malami "has not been negotiating on behalf of Nigeria... but for Sunrise" and "was motivated by other incentive(s)."

It voided the settlement, ruling that both ministers lacked presidential approval and that the agreements were products of corruption and unenforceable. It ordered Sunrise and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria $11.82 million in legal fees and $414,125 in arbitration costs.

Adesanya said the battle is not over, stating his lawyers are reviewing the award to determine next steps.

The development has sparked political reactions. The APC Presidential Campaign Council, through spokesman Dele Alake, said the revelations show Atiku, now ADC presidential candidate for 2027, would "compromise Nigeria's best interests for personal, fiduciary gain" and asked him to quit the race.

Atiku, through his aide Phrank Shaibu, dismissed the APC's claim as a distortion. He said he was not a party to the arbitration, did not testify, and the tribunal did not find him guilty of any offence.

"The rejection of one man's explanation is not the conviction of another man," Shaibu said, challenging the APC to produce the portion of the award that convicts Atiku.

The tribunal recalled that the Mambilla project, conceived in 1982, was estimated at $6 billion. Despite seven firms showing interest, former Power Minister Olu Agunloye awarded the contract to Sunrise on May 22, 2003, a day after the Federal Executive Council directed that the memo be withdrawn and more proposals invited.