Nigeria has secured a major legal victory in its long-running dispute with Sunrise Power over the proposed Mambilla Hydropower Project in Taraba State, after an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal in Paris dismissed the company’s $2.35 billion claim against the Federal Government.
The three-member tribunal, in its final award issued on Thursday, also ordered Sunrise Power and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria for 75 percent of the legal fees and expenses incurred during the arbitration.
The tribunal rejected Sunrise Power’s allegation that Nigeria breached its contractual obligations under a settlement agreement and an addendum executed by the parties.
It also dismissed the company’s request for an additional $400 million payment, comprising a $200 million settlement sum and another $200 million default sum.
In another significant finding, the tribunal ruled that Adesanya was bound by the arbitration agreement with Nigeria under the settlement agreement and addendum.
The panel further held that it had jurisdiction over Nigeria’s counterclaim against Adesanya and his firm.
Nigeria to Recover Millions in Legal Costs
According to the tribunal’s decision, Nigeria’s legal fees and expenses amounted to $11,819,506.51.
Sunrise Power and Adesanya were ordered to reimburse 75 percent of that amount.
Of the amount awarded, $2.5 million will be released directly from funds held in escrow by the ICC following notification of the final award.
The defendants were ordered to pay the remaining $9,319,506.51, together with interest at an annual rate of 10 percent, compounded annually from the date the final award was notified until the amount is paid in full.
The tribunal also directed that the arbitration costs be shared between the parties, with Sunrise Power and Adesanya responsible for 75 percent, while Nigeria will bear the remaining 25 percent.
The total arbitration cost was fixed at $1,656,500.
Dispute Dates Back to Mambilla Project
The dispute is connected to the long-delayed 3,050-megawatt Mambilla Hydropower Project, which was initially linked to a 2003 agreement between Sunrise Power and the Nigerian government.
The approximately $6 billion project was planned under a build-operate-and-transfer arrangement and is intended to become one of Nigeria’s major electricity generation projects.
Sunrise Power commenced arbitration proceedings against Nigeria before the ICC International Court of Arbitration on October 10, 2017, seeking approximately $2.354 billion over what it described as a breach of contract relating to the 2003 agreement.
A subsequent settlement agreement was reached between Sunrise Power and the Nigerian government in 2020 in an attempt to resolve the initial dispute.
However, another arbitration proceeding later emerged over the settlement, with Sunrise seeking $400 million under its terms.
The latest ruling has now rejected the company’s claims arising from that dispute.
Tribunal Panel
The arbitration panel was chaired by Melaine van Leeuwen, with Stavros Brekoulakis and Simon Nesbitt serving as co-arbitrators.
Nigeria was represented by a legal team led by Elizabeth Oger-Gross and Tolu Obamuroh, now of Paul Hastings LLP.
The ruling represents a significant development in the decades-long legal and contractual controversies surrounding the Mambilla hydropower project and the competing claims between Sunrise Power and the Nigerian government.
