The tribunal, operating under the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, France, issued its final award in favour of Nigeria on September 17, 2026, nearly nine years after the dispute began.
President Bola Tinubu confirmed the development in a statement issued by the State House on Thursday, saying the ruling had removed a major legal obstacle to the 1,500MW project.
“Today’s ICC ruling clears the single biggest legal hurdle that has paralysed the Mambilla hydro power project for years,” Tinubu said.
The dispute began on October 10, 2017, when Sunrise initiated arbitration proceedings against Nigeria over an alleged breach of a 2003 agreement concerning the development of the project.
According to the Presidency, Sunrise had demanded $680m as a settlement sum and interest in the latest arbitration, while a related claim sought more than $2.7bn in compensation and interest.
The two claims put Nigeria’s potential exposure at more than $3.38bn.
Details of the tribunal’s award showed that it rejected Sunrise’s claim that Nigeria breached its contractual obligations under a settlement agreement and an addendum entered into by the parties.
The tribunal also rejected a request for Nigeria to pay $400m, comprising a $200m settlement sum and another $200m claimed as a default payment.
It further ruled that Sunrise promoter, Leno Adesanya, was bound by the arbitration agreement with Nigeria and that it had jurisdiction over Nigeria’s counterclaim against Adesanya and Sunrise.
The tribunal ordered Sunrise and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria for 75 per cent of its legal fees and expenses incurred in defending the case.
Nigeria’s legal fees were put at $11.82m, with $2.5m expected to be paid from funds held in escrow by the ICC. Sunrise and Adesanya are to pay the remaining $9.32m, with interest at 10 per cent annually, compounded until payment.
The arbitration costs were fixed at $1.66m, with Sunrise and Adesanya responsible for 75 per cent and Nigeria for the remaining 25 per cent.
The tribunal was chaired by Melaine van Leeuwen, with Stavros Brekoulakis and Simon Nesbitt as co-arbitrators. Nigeria was represented by Elizabeth Oger-Gross and Tolu Obamuroh of Paul Hastings LLP.
Tinubu commended the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, officials of the Federal Ministry of Justice and the legal team for their handling of the case.
“This latest decision affirms the Nigerian State’s determination not to succumb to predatory and exploitative claims by corrupt local and international entities and their enablers and funders,” he said.
The President also acknowledged former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the late former President Muhammadu Buhari for testifying in Nigeria’s defence.
“I commend the patriotism and support of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, and late President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, who testified in the case, which dated back to an illegal 2003 contract to build a 3,050-megawatt hydroelectric plant in Taraba State under a build-operate-transfer model. The Federal Executive Council never authorised the contract,” he said.
Tinubu also commended former ministers Babatunde Fashola and Suleiman Adamu, who appeared as witnesses, as well as the National Security Adviser and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for their roles in the case.
The Mambilla project was originally conceived as a 3,050MW hydroelectric plant in Taraba State under a build-operate-transfer arrangement.
The Federal Government later reduced the proposed capacity to about 1,525MW in 2021 to cut costs and improve its financial viability. It was subsequently rescoped to about 1,500MW to make it “bankable” and acceptable to lenders.
The original project was estimated to cost between $5bn and $5.8bn, while the rescoped project was estimated at $4bn.
Attempts to settle the dispute in 2020 led to a settlement agreement, but disagreements over its implementation resulted in further arbitration.
The Mambilla project has remained largely incomplete despite being identified by successive administrations as a major project for increasing Nigeria’s electricity generation capacity.
Financing challenges, legal disputes and changes to the project’s implementation have contributed to the delays. The Federal Ministry of Power had also identified completion of financing arrangements with the Export-Import Bank of China as one of the issues affecting the project.
Tinubu said the government would continue to work with genuine investors while defending Nigeria against claims it considers unjustified.
“I want to assure you that while our country remains committed to partnering with genuine investors and honouring its legal obligations, it will continue to defend all opportunistic claims instituted against our commonwealth strongly,” he said.
The latest victory comes amid other international legal disputes involving Nigeria. In 2023, a United Kingdom court set aside an $11bn arbitration award obtained by Process & Industrial Developments Limited over a failed gas processing agreement.
The Mambilla project has also featured in a money-laundering case involving former Minister of Power Saleh Mamman, who was recently sentenced to 75 years in prison in absentia by the Federal High Court.
Justice James Omotosho also ordered Mamman to refund the outstanding balance from the N22bn that the prosecution said was diverted from funds meant for the Mambilla and Zungeru hydroelectric projects.
Former Power Minister Barth Nnaji recently said Nigeria had gone 11 years without financing a new major power plant. He attributed the prolonged investment gap to policy inconsistency, weak infrastructure development, and the discontinuation of a financing support framework.
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