An International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal in Paris has rejected a $2.35 billion claim brought by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited against Nigeria over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.

The tribunal also dismissed a separate $400 million settlement claim and ordered Sunrise and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria $11.82 million, representing 75 per cent of the legal fees and expenses incurred in defending the arbitration. The award was issued on Thursday, September 17, 2026.

The ruling followed an arbitration that began in 2017 over the proposed 3,960MW hydroelectric project in Taraba State.

The tribunal rejected Sunrise’s claim that Nigeria breached its obligations under a settlement agreement and a subsequent addendum. It also dismissed the company’s demand for $400 million, comprising a $200 million settlement sum and another $200 million in default payments.

Under the cost order, $2.5 million of the $11.82 million awarded to Nigeria will come from funds held in escrow by the ICC. Sunrise and Adesanya are required to pay the remaining $9.32 million, with interest accruing at 10 per cent annually until full payment.

The tribunal also ordered Sunrise and Adesanya to bear 75 per cent of the arbitration costs, amounting to $1.24 million, while Nigeria will bear the remaining 25 per cent.

President Bola Tinubu welcomed the decision, describing it as the “single biggest legal hurdle” that had delayed the Mambilla project for years.

Tinubu said the original 2003 agreement for the project was never authorised by the Federal Executive Council and commended the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, the Federal Ministry of Justice and Nigeria’s legal defence team for their roles in the case.

The tribunal’s award also contained findings concerning alleged payments and dealings involving Adesanya and Nigerian officials connected to the project. It found that Adesanya had engaged in what it described as a “decades-long campaign of bribery and corruption” involving payments to officials.

Among the transactions considered was an alleged $500,000 payment to the wife of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in 2003, as well as payments involving former Minister of Power Olu Agunloye, former Solicitor-General Abdullahi Yola and the family of former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power, Dere Awosika.

The tribunal also rejected arguments that Nigeria’s counterclaims were time-barred, finding that the alleged illicit transactions had been concealed.

Sunrise initiated the ICC arbitration on October 10, 2017, seeking about $2.354 billion over an alleged breach of an agreement relating to the proposed project, which was valued at about $6 billion.

Former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari testified during the proceedings and separately denied authorising the agreements at issue.