An International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal has criticised Abubakar Malami, former Attorney-General of the Federation, over his handling of the Mambilla hydropower dispute.
In its 616-page final award delivered in Paris on September 16, 2026, the three-member tribunal said Malami acted against Nigeria’s interests and maintained an inappropriate relationship with Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company.
The tribunal found that Malami’s renegotiation of a $200 million settlement substantially worsened Nigeria’s position, potentially exposing the country to $400 million plus interest.
It said it could not identify any corresponding benefit to Nigeria from the revised terms and concluded that Malami had been negotiating for Sunrise rather than the federal government.
The tribunal also found that the January 2020 settlement agreement and a March 2020 addendum were products of corruption and therefore unenforceable under Nigerian public policy.
It said Malami and then Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, lacked the authority to bind the federal government without presidential approval.
According to the tribunal, former President Muhammadu Buhari repeatedly refused to approve the settlement. Buhari first rejected the proposal in April 2020 and later wrote “Not approved” when Malami sought authorisation for further negotiations in January 2021.
The tribunal further faulted Malami for giving Buhari incorrect information about the settlement. In an August 2020 brief, Malami reportedly described the deal as a $200 million settlement that could save Nigeria $2.154 billion, despite the revised agreement providing for an additional $200 million default penalty and daily compounded interest.
The tribunal also examined communications between Malami and Adesanya, including WhatsApp messages in which Adesanya thanked Malami for his efforts to ensure that “we get paid.” It described their exchanges and coordination as wholly inappropriate and indicative of a corrupt relationship.
Adesanya had also alleged that Malami solicited a bribe and claimed to possess recordings of conversations with Malami and Mamman. Although he refused to produce the recordings, citing security concerns, the tribunal said the circumstances surrounding the revised payment structure supported his testimony.
On the balance of probabilities, the tribunal found that a corrupt agreement existed under which Malami was promised a share of money Sunrise would receive.
However, it declined to award Nigeria damages in its counterclaim, saying the government had failed to establish a sufficient causal link between the alleged misconduct and the financial losses claimed.
The tribunal rejected Sunrise’s claims in their entirety and ordered the company and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria $11.82 million in legal fees and $414,125 in arbitration costs.
The Mambilla dispute arose from a 2003 agreement involving the proposed 3,050MW Mambilla hydropower project in Taraba State. Sunrise had commenced arbitration in 2017, seeking about $2.354 billion from Nigeria over alleged breach of contract.
The tribunal’s findings have now brought fresh scrutiny to the handling of the dispute and the decisions that led to the controversial 2020 settlement.