Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has rejected allegations that he entered into a corrupt agreement with Sunrise Power promoter, Leno Adesanya, over the long-running Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project dispute.
Malami, through his Special Assistant on Media, Mohammed Doka, said the allegations must be considered within the full documentary and evidentiary record of the arbitration.
His reaction followed the release of the International Chamber of Commerce tribunal’s 616-page final award, delivered in Paris on September 16, 2026.
The tribunal dismissed claims brought by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited against Nigeria and ordered the company and Adesanya to refund a significant portion of Nigeria’s legal expenses.
However, reports on the award indicated that the tribunal made adverse findings about Malami’s handling of a settlement arrangement with Sunrise, including an alleged corrupt relationship between him and Adesanya.
Responding to the development, Malami stressed that the proceedings were commercial arbitration and did not amount to a criminal prosecution or conviction.
“The proceedings were commercial arbitration proceedings between parties to a dispute. They were not a criminal prosecution of Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the award does not constitute a criminal conviction of him,” he said.
He nevertheless acknowledged the seriousness of the tribunal’s findings, insisting that they should neither be dismissed nor addressed through speculation.
“Those matters should not be ignored, trivialised or answered by speculation,” Malami said.
The former AGF also argued that the dispute predates his tenure as Attorney-General, noting that Sunrise became involved in the Mambilla project as far back as 2003.
According to him, successive administrations and Attorneys-General had handled various contractual and legal issues involving the company before he assumed office.
Malami said the Federal Government had also entered into a General Project Execution Agreement involving Sunrise and Sinohydro in November 2012.
“The relevance of this history is straightforward: Malami did not create the Sunrise dispute, introduce Sunrise to the Mambilla project, or originate the Federal Government’s attempts to settle the controversy,” the statement said.
He explained that his involvement followed existing government processes, including a directive communicated by the then Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari in April 2016 concerning the resolution of disputes surrounding the Mambilla project.
Malami said the Ministry of Justice’s responsibility was mainly to advise the government on its legal exposure and possible options for resolving the dispute.
He added that by 2019, the unresolved dispute had become a concern in financing discussions for the Mambilla project, including negotiations involving China Exim Bank.
According to him, Sunrise initially demanded $500m as a full and final settlement during negotiations in London in November 2019, while the government proposed $100m before negotiations moved to $200m.
“The governmental calculation was whether an asserted multibillion-dollar exposure, continuing litigation, financing difficulties and delays to the Mambilla project could be brought to an end through a substantially smaller negotiated settlement,” he said.
Malami maintained that former President Buhari never approved the proposed $200m payment.
He said Buhari indicated on April 20, 2020, that the government did not have the money to pay Sunrise, and that the decision was communicated to the company two days later.
He further disclosed that a subsequent request for presidential approval in January 2021 was rejected, with Buhari reportedly writing, “Not approved.”
According to Malami, he subsequently directed government lawyers to oppose Sunrise’s efforts to enforce the settlement.
“Malami did not simply direct that Sunrise be paid regardless of the President’s position,” his statement said.
On the specific allegation of a corrupt arrangement with Adesanya, Malami issued a categorical denial.
“Malami rejects any suggestion that his official actions were undertaken pursuant to a corrupt agreement or in exchange for personal financial benefit,” the statement said.
He also questioned the evidentiary basis of claims that Adesanya possessed audio or video recordings relevant to the allegations, noting that the purported recordings were not presented before the tribunal.
“Where allegations of this gravity are made, the existence, non-production, authenticity and contents of any claimed recordings are matters of obvious evidentiary importance,” Malami said.
Despite the tribunal’s findings concerning the former AGF, Nigeria emerged victorious in the arbitration.
The Federal Government said Sunrise had sought $680m plus interest in one arbitration and more than $2.7bn in another dispute related to the Mambilla project.
The tribunal rejected Sunrise’s claims, including a $400m demand linked to the disputed settlement agreement and an alleged default payment.
It also ordered Sunrise and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria for legal costs.
President Bola Tinubu welcomed the outcome, describing it as the removal of a major legal obstacle to the long-delayed Mambilla project.
Malami also welcomed Nigeria’s financial victory, while calling for the allegations against public officials to be assessed based on evidence.
“Nigeria’s victory should be welcomed, and findings concerning the conduct of former public officials should be carefully examined and answered on the evidence,” he said.
The former AGF said he would issue a more detailed response to the tribunal’s individual findings after reviewing the complete award and accompanying documents.
