By Emmanuel Thomas l Friday, Sept 18, 2026
ABUJA — Fresh revelations have emerged from the ongoing legal tussle over the multi-billion-dollar Mambilla Hydropower Project, as Leno Adesanya, the Chief Executive Officer and promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL), admitted to transferring $500,000 to Jennifer Douglas, the former wife of Nigeria’s ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Testifying before an international arbitration tribunal sitting under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Adesanya disclosed that the payment was executed on January 30, 2003.
This transfer occurred less than four months before the Federal Government under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration purportedly awarded Sunrise Power a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract for the 3,050MW Mambilla hydroelectric project.
Adesanya clarified to the arbitration panel that the transaction, which was routed through China Castle Investments Limited—an offshore firm under his operational control—was not a bribe or inducement, but rather part of a legitimate foreign-exchange transaction carried out on behalf of Atiku Abubakar, who was serving as Nigeria’s Vice President at the time.
The Mambilla Hydropower Project, located in Taraba State, was originally conceived in the 1970s as a critical infrastructure endeavor meant to tackle Nigeria’s chronic electricity deficit. Designed to generate over 3,000 megawatts of power, it remains one of the largest planned infrastructure undertakings in West Africa.
However, the project has been bogged down by decades of political maneuvering, legal disputes, and administrative delays:
2003 Contract Award: Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited claimed it was awarded the $6 billion Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract for the Mambilla project in May 2003, toward the tail end of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first term.
Contract Nullification: The Ministry of Power subsequently challenged the validity of the contract, asserting that Sunrise Power lacked the technical capability and financial backing to execute a project of such scale, leading to a prolonged legal stalemate.
2012 Re-authorization Attempt: Under President Goodluck Jonathan, efforts were made to re-engage Sunrise through a revised execution model, but parallel disputes with Chinese EPC contractors stalled progress.
International Arbitration: Displeased by the Federal Government’s refusal to recognize its contract, Sunrise Power dragged Nigeria to the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris, demanding over $2.3 billion in damages or a settlement fee of $200 million.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria, through the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, has consistently maintained that the initial contract awarded to Sunrise Power was tainted by fraud, undue influence, and procedural violations, rendering it unenforceable.
Implications for Nigeria’s Legal Battle
The latest disclosure regarding the $500,000 transfer to Jennifer Douglas comes as Nigerian government lawyers attempt to demonstrate before the international tribunal that the procurement process was compromised from its inception.
During the Obasanjo administration (1999–2007), Vice President Atiku Abubakar headed the National Council on Privatization (NCP) and exercised significant influence over economic and energy sector policies, though power sector procurement officially fell under the Federal Ministry of Power.
Legal experts monitoring the arbitration observe that Adesanya’s acknowledgment of an offshore financial transaction involving the Vice President’s family during active negotiations adds a complex dimension to the case.
While Adesanya insists the payment was an isolated foreign-exchange transaction, the Nigerian defense team is expected to argue that the financial connection between the project promoter and high-ranking public officials invalidates Sunrise Power’s breach-of-contract claims.
As the international tribunal deliberates on the evidence, the resolution of the Mambilla contract dispute remains vital to Nigeria’s energy sector, where the long-delayed 3,050MW plant is seen as essential for stabilizing the national grid.