Nigeria has secured a significant legal victory in its long-running arbitration dispute with Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited over the proposed Mambilla Hydropower Project in Taraba State.
An arbitration tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), sitting in Paris, France, dismissed Sunrise Power’s claim seeking approximately $2.35 billion from the Federal Government of Nigeria over the disputed project.
The award issued on Thursday, September 17, 2026, also directed Sunrise Power and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria 75 per cent of the legal fees and expenses incurred during the arbitration, amounting to approximately $11.82 million.
According to reports on the tribunal’s decision, the panel rejected Sunrise Power’s claim that Nigeria had breached its contractual obligations under a settlement agreement and an accompanying addendum.
The tribunal also dismissed the company’s demand for $400 million, comprising a $200 million settlement sum and an additional $200 million default payment.
The legal dispute dates back to a 2003 agreement concerning the proposed 3,050-megawatt Mambilla Hydropower Project, which was initially structured on a build, operate and transfer basis.
Sunrise Power commenced arbitration proceedings against Nigeria at the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris on October 10, 2017, seeking compensation over what it described as a breach of contract.
The company later pursued a separate claim connected to a 2020 settlement agreement, demanding $400 million after alleging that the Nigerian Government failed to honour the agreement’s terms.
The Mambilla project and its contractual arrangements have generated controversy across successive administrations, with former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, as well as former government officials, becoming part of the wider public debate surrounding the project.
This ruling concerns the arbitration dispute and should not, by itself, be interpreted as confirmation that construction of the Mambilla Hydropower Project has resumed or that all outstanding issues surrounding its development have been resolved.