By Okoi Obono-Obla
My heart bleeds ceaselessly and endlessly over the sordid story that emanated from Paris on 17 September 2026, when a three-member International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Tribunal delivered its earth-shattering 616-page Final Award.
Contrary to the initial fear that Nigeria would be fleeced, the Tribunal, chaired by Ms. Melaine van Leeuwen with Prof. Stavros Brekoulakis and Mr. Simon Nesbitt as co-arbitrators, ruled in favour of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and rejected in its entirety the claims of the roguish Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
Sunrise had commenced arbitration on 10 October 2017, claiming $2.354 billion for alleged breach of a 2003 contract for the 3,050MW Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State, a project then valued at about $6 billion on a Build, Operate and Transfer basis. With interest, that claim exceeded $2.7 billion. In a second arbitration, it claimed $400 million — $200 million as settlement sum and $200 million as default penalty — which with interest rose to $680 million. Together, Nigeria’s exposure was more than $3.38 billion.
The Tribunal dismissed both.
It dismissed Sunrise’s claim for a declaration that Nigeria breached its contractual obligations under the 2020 Settlement Agreement and its Addendum, rejected its demand for $400 million, declared that its promoter Mr. Leno Adesanya is bound by the arbitration agreement, affirmed jurisdiction over Nigeria’s counterclaim, and ordered Sunrise and Adesanya to reimburse 75% of Nigeria’s legal costs — $9,319,506.51 out of $11,819,506.51, plus 10% compound annual interest, with $2.5 million to be paid from ICC escrow.
Why did this phantom contract survive for 23 years?
First, the original sin of 2003. The Tribunal accepted Nigeria’s position, supported by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, that the Federal Executive Council never approved the award to Sunrise. As Obasanjo has consistently said, no minister could approve above N25 million without express presidential consent: “It was impossible for Agunloye to commit my government to a $6 billion project without my permission.” The purported award letter of 22 May 2003 was issued by the then Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, shortly after the memo was stepped down at FEC.
Second, the $500,000 red flag. The Tribunal established as fact that Adesanya transferred $500,000 on 30 January 2003 from his offshore company, China Castle Investments Ltd, to a US account belonging to Mrs. Jennifer Douglas Abubakar, then wife of Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, less than four months before the purported award. Adesanya admitted it: “I confirm that I made a transfer of $500,000 to the Abubakars…” claiming it was a legitimate forex transaction.
The Tribunal rejected that explanation. It found no documentary evidence and noted the money came not from his bureau de change, Moneyline Ventures Ltd, but from China Castle, which was not licensed for forex. Neither Atiku nor Mrs. Abubakar provided any witness statement. The Tribunal said the circumstances raised “significant red flags” and noted “a close connection in time between the moment the USD 500,000 payment was made… on 30 January 2003 and the alleged award of the BOT contract to Sunrise on 22 May 2003”.
This is the fantastically corrupt Nigeria that former UK Prime Minister David Cameron lamented, where leaders receive gratification using family members as fronts.
Third, the perfidious settlement of 2020. As the late President Muhammadu Buhari clarified in his letter to the Attorney-General, when the proposed settlement agreement and addendum were presented to him on 20 April 2020, he refused to approve them because he was convinced there was no basis for Sunrise’s claim. Yet, in disregard of his principal who had written “Not Approved” twice, the then Attorney-General proceeded to fabricate an agreement hiking a $200 million claim to $400 million.
How unpatriotic and treasonous can some of our leaders be?
The Holy Bible warns us:
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” — Proverbs 29:2 (KJV)
And the Holy Qur’an is unequivocal on such treachery, greed and avarice:
“And do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly or send it [in bribery] to the rulers in order that [they might aid] you to consume a portion of the wealth of the people in sin, while you know [it is unlawful].” — Qur’an 2:188 (Al-Baqarah)
“Woe to those who give less than due…” — Qur’an 83:1-3 (Al-Mutaffifin)
Conclusion
The ICC Tribunal’s award of 17 September 2026 is more than a legal victory; it is a moral indictment. It proves that Nigeria’s greatest enemy is not the roguish foreign contractor, but the insider — the leader who for $500,000 will mortgage a $6 billion national asset, and the law officer who will forge his President’s consent to share $400 million of the people’s patrimony.
We must now go beyond celebration. The Federal Government must prosecute all those indicted by the findings, recover every kobo, and finally build Mambilla. Otherwise, the locusts will return in another form.
As the Scriptures remind us: righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
