By Opeyemi Adelakun
Fresh details from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project have brought renewed scrutiny to a $500,000 payment made to Jennifer Douglas, the then-wife of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, in 2003.
The payment was made by Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, through China Castle Investments Limited, an offshore company controlled by him.
According to the tribunal’s final award, Adesanya told the proceedings that the payment was part of a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku.
However, the three-member tribunal rejected the explanation after finding that Adesanya failed to provide documentary or witness evidence to substantiate the claimed transaction.
The payment, made on January 30, 2003, occurred less than four months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract for the 3,960-megawatt Mambilla project.
The tribunal noted the proximity between the payment and the purported May 22, 2003 contract award, while also considering Adesanya’s evidence about his relationship with Atiku and his involvement in the project.
It said Adesanya failed to produce records showing the underlying naira payment, exchange rate, instructions from Atiku or his aides, correspondence relating to the transaction or other documentation establishing its commercial purpose.
Neither Atiku nor Douglas testified before the tribunal to corroborate Adesanya’s explanation.
The tribunal consequently found that the evidence before it did not support the claim that the $500,000 transfer was simply a legitimate foreign-exchange transaction undertaken for Atiku.
However, the tribunal did not find Atiku guilty of receiving a bribe or personally directing the payment, and Atiku was not a party to the arbitration.
How the Mambilla controversy unfolded
The Mambilla project dates back to the 1980s, with feasibility studies eventually establishing the hydroelectric potential of the Mambilla Plateau at about 3,960MW.
Sunrise and its Chinese partner, North China Power Engineering Company, began engaging Nigerian authorities over the project in 2001.
The company submitted its proposal in January 2003, while the Technical Committee of the Ministry of Power and Steel subsequently recommended Sunrise for further consideration.
On April 7, then Power and Steel Minister Olu Agunloye wrote to former President Olusegun Obasanjo seeking approval for steps towards developing the project with Sunrise.
Obasanjo subsequently directed that the matter be presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
At its meeting on May 21, 2003, the FEC resolved that the memorandum should be withdrawn and directed the ministry to invite more proposals and explore investment options.
However, the following day, May 22, Agunloye wrote to Sunrise conveying what he described as government approval for the construction of the 3,960MW project under a BOT arrangement.
The dispute over whether that letter constituted a valid government contract later became central to Sunrise’s multibillion-dollar claims against Nigeria.
APC, Atiku clash over tribunal findings
The tribunal’s findings have triggered a fresh political dispute between the APC and Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 election.
The APC Presidential Campaign Council accused Atiku of compromising Nigeria’s interests and called on him to withdraw from the presidential contest.
The council, through its spokesman, Dele Alake, interpreted the tribunal’s findings as evidence of wrongdoing by the former vice-president.
Atiku, however, rejected the interpretation, accusing the APC of distorting the tribunal’s award for political purposes.
Speaking through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the tribunal did not find him guilty of any offence and argued that an allegation or suspicion could not be presented as a judicial finding.
He also stressed that he was not a party to the arbitration and did not testify before the tribunal.
TheCable and other reports of the award similarly noted that the tribunal did not establish that Atiku personally directed the transfer or received a bribe.
Tribunal rules in Nigeria’s favour
Beyond the controversy surrounding the 2003 payment, the ICC tribunal rejected Sunrise’s claims against the Federal Government in the latest arbitration.
The company had sought substantial compensation over the disputed Mambilla project and a subsequent settlement agreement.
The tribunal rejected the claims and ordered Sunrise and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria for a significant portion of its legal costs, with Nigeria’s recoverable costs reported at about $11.82 million.
Adesanya has said the legal battle is not over, adding that his lawyers are reviewing the award and will advise him on the next steps.
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