Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has welcomed Nigeria’s victory in the arbitration proceedings over the long-delayed Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, while rejecting allegations that he entered into a corrupt arrangement with Sunrise Power promoter, Leno Adesanya.
Malami’s position was contained in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Mohammed Doka, on Tuesday, following the International Chamber of Commerce arbitration tribunal’s rejection of claims brought against Nigeria by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
The 616-page final award, delivered in Paris on September 16, 2026, rejected Sunrise Power’s claims relating to the Mambilla project and ordered the company and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria for a substantial portion of its legal costs.
However, reports on the tribunal’s findings also raised questions about Malami’s handling of a settlement agreement with Sunrise, including an alleged corrupt arrangement between the former AGF and Adesanya.
Malami rejected the allegation, arguing that the arbitration proceedings were commercial in nature and did not amount to a criminal trial or conviction.
“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 reported findings, saying they should be considered alongside the complete documentary and evidentiary record.
“Those matters should not be ignored, trivialised or answered by speculation,” he said.
Malami also provided historical context to the dispute, arguing that the controversy surrounding Sunrise Power and the Mambilla project predated his tenure as Attorney-General.
According to him, Sunrise became involved in the proposed project in 2003, while successive administrations and Attorneys-General dealt with contractual disagreements involving the company.
He said former Attorney-General Michael Aondoakaa had reviewed the dispute before his tenure and recommended an amicable resolution.
The Federal Government subsequently 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 established governmental and presidential processes, including a directive communicated by the then Chief of Staff to former President Muhammadu Buhari in April 2016 concerning the resolution of disputes surrounding the Mambilla project.
He explained that 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, Malami said the unresolved Sunrise dispute had become an impediment to financing discussions concerning the Mambilla project, including negotiations involving China Exim Bank.
He said Sunrise initially demanded $500 million as a full and final settlement during negotiations in London in November 2019, while Federal Government representatives proposed $100 million before a $200 million figure emerged.
Malami said the government’s consideration was whether a potential multibillion-dollar exposure, continued litigation and financing difficulties could be resolved through a substantially lower negotiated settlement.
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However, he stressed that Buhari ultimately did not approve the proposed $200 million settlement.
According to Malami, Buhari indicated on April 20, 2020, that the Federal Government did not have $200 million to pay Sunrise, with the 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 further argued that his actions after the rejection demonstrated that he did not seek to enforce the proposed settlement against the government.
He said he instructed Federal Government lawyers to resist Sunrise’s attempt to enforce the agreement and to preserve Nigeria’s legal position.
“Malami did not simply direct that Sunrise be paid regardless of the President’s position,” the statement said.
The former AGF also categorically denied the tribunal’s reported finding of a corrupt arrangement between him and Adesanya.
“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.
He argued that the allegation should be assessed against the complete evidentiary record, including whether he ever received money or any other financial benefit from Sunrise, Adesanya or any related entity.
The statement also referred to reports that Adesanya claimed to possess audio or video recordings relevant to his allegations but that the recordings were not produced before the tribunal.
Malami said the existence, authenticity and contents of any such recordings were matters of evidentiary importance that should be properly examined.
However, the tribunal’s reported findings stated that it found evidence of a corrupt arrangement involving Malami and Adesanya, with media reports also indicating that the tribunal considered communications between the two.
Despite the dispute over Malami’s role, Nigeria secured a favourable outcome in the arbitration.
The Federal Government had said Sunrise sought $680 million plus interest in one arbitration and more than $2.7 billion in another dispute connected to the Mambilla project.
The tribunal rejected the claims and dismissed Sunrise’s demand for $400 million 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 the removal of a major legal obstacle to the long-delayed Mambilla project. He also commended the Federal Ministry of Justice, Nigeria’s defence team and other witnesses involved in the proceedings.
Malami said he was pleased that Nigeria’s financial interests had been protected, while maintaining that the findings concerning former public officials should be examined on the evidence.
“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.