Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has rejected allegations that he entered into a corrupt agreement with Sunrise Power promoter, Leno Adesanya, over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.
Malami, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Mohammed Doka, on Tuesday, said the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration award should not be construed as a criminal conviction against him.
The statement followed the tribunal’s rejection of claims brought by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited against Nigeria over the long-running Mambilla dispute.
The 616-page final award, delivered in Paris on September 16, 2026, rejected Sunrise’s claims and ordered the company and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria for a substantial portion of its legal costs.
However, reports on the award said the tribunal made adverse findings about Malami’s handling of a settlement agreement with Sunrise, including a finding of a corrupt arrangement involving him and Adesanya.
Reacting to the findings, Malami stressed that the case was a commercial arbitration and not a criminal proceeding.
“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,” the statement said.
He, however, acknowledged the seriousness of the findings and said they should be considered against the complete documentary and evidentiary record.
“Those matters should not be ignored, trivialised or answered by speculation,” the statement added.
Malami also sought to distance himself from the origin of the dispute, saying the controversy surrounding Sunrise and the Mambilla project predated his tenure as AGF.
According to him, Sunrise became involved in the proposed project in 2003, while successive administrations and Attorneys-General handled contractual disputes involving the company.
He said former AGF Michael Aondoakaa had reviewed the dispute before his tenure and recommended an amicable resolution, while the Federal Government 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.
“He inherited a longstanding dispute that had traversed previous administrations, Attorneys-General, ministries and contractual arrangements,” the statement said.
Malami said his involvement came through governmental and presidential processes, including a directive communicated by the then Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari in April 2016 on resolving disputes surrounding the Mambilla project.
He said the Ministry of Justice’s role was primarily to advise the Federal Government on its legal exposure and possible options for resolving the dispute.
By 2019, he said, the unresolved Sunrise dispute had become an impediment to financing discussions for the Mambilla project, including those involving China Exim Bank.
Malami said Sunrise initially demanded $500m as a full and final settlement during negotiations in London in November 2019, while Federal Government representatives proposed $100m before $200m emerged as a possible settlement figure.
“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.
He stressed that Buhari did not approve the proposed $200m settlement.
According to Malami, Buhari indicated on April 20, 2020, that the Federal Government did not have $200m to pay Sunrise, a position communicated to the company two days later.
He added that a subsequent request for presidential approval in January 2021 was also rejected, with Buhari writing, “Not approved.”
Malami said he subsequently instructed Federal Government lawyers to oppose Sunrise’s attempt to enforce the settlement after the President declined to approve the payment.
“Malami did not simply direct that Sunrise be paid regardless of the President’s position,” the statement said.
“When Sunrise asserted that Nigeria was consequently in default… Malami instructed counsel representing the Federal Government to resist Sunrise’s attempt to have the settlement terms adopted or enforced against Nigeria and to preserve the Federal Government’s legal position.”
On the tribunal’s reported finding of a corrupt arrangement between him and Adesanya, Malami categorically denied the allegation.
“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.
The former AGF said the allegation should be tested against the complete evidentiary record, including whether he received money or any other financial benefit from Sunrise, Adesanya or any connected entity.
The statement also referred to reports that Adesanya claimed to have audio or video recordings relevant to his allegations but that the recordings were not produced 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.
The tribunal’s reported findings, however, said it found evidence of a corrupt arrangement involving Malami and Adesanya. Media reports also said the tribunal considered communications between the two.
On the broader arbitration, the Federal Government said Sunrise had sought $680m plus interest in one arbitration and more than $2.7bn in another dispute linked to the Mambilla project.
The tribunal rejected Sunrise’s claims, including its demand for $400m arising from the settlement agreement and an alleged default payment. It also ordered Sunrise and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria for legal costs.
President Bola Tinubu welcomed the award, describing it as removing a major legal obstacle to the long-delayed Mambilla project and commending the Federal Ministry of Justice, the defence team and witnesses involved in the case.
Malami said he was pleased that Nigeria’s financial interests had been protected.
“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.
He added that he would issue a more comprehensive response to the tribunal’s individual findings after studying the complete award and accompanying records.
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