Nigeria has detailed allegations of bribery and corruption against Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company, in papers filed before a high court of the federal capital territory (FCT), Abuja, and seen by TheCable.
In his motion on notice, Olu Agunloye, former minister of power, attached documents in which the federal government alleged that Adesanya offered money and women to ministers in the Muhammadu Buhari administration in trying to secure favourable recommendations on the $6 billion Mambilla hydroelectric power project.
In January 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Agunloye before a federal high court over allegations of fraud in the award of the contract in 2003.
Sunrise is in arbitration with Nigeria at the ICC International Court of Arbitration, Paris, France, demanding $2.3 billion in compensation for the country’s failure to honour the contract which was awarded by Agunloye — a day after the federal executive council (FEC) asked then-minister of power to step down the memo.
Nigeria is alleging fraud and corruption of public officials involved in the original contract award and also in the subsequent settlement agreements reached in an attempt to settle the dispute.
Nigeria is likening the conduct of Sunrise and its promoter to that of P&ID officials in the failed gas supply and processing agreement (GSPA) of 2010.
Despite securing an arbitration award rising to $11 billion against Nigeria, P&ID could not enforce it.
A UK court set it aside because public officials got illegal payments in the contracting process and this fact, considered by the judge as significant, had been hidden from the arbitration tribunal.
The court also ruled that P&ID was illegally in possession of privileged internal documents of the Nigerian legal team during arbitration.
The P&ID case ended in victory for Nigeria — with the country’s legal team now hoping this would be a precedent in arbitration cases arising from suspicious and questionable contract awards.
