RismadarVoice Reporters
September 17, 2026
Nigeria has secured a major victory in its long-running legal dispute over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project after an International Chamber of Commerce tribunal in Paris rejected financial claims brought by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
The ruling removes a significant legal obstacle surrounding the proposed hydropower facility in Taraba State, but does not mean construction of the Mambilla project has resumed or that the power plant is operational.
The project, conceived decades ago and designed to provide more than 3,000 megawatts of electricity, remains a stalled infrastructure project. Construction has not meaningfully progressed despite successive attempts by governments to develop it.
President Bola Tinubu welcomed Thursday’s arbitration decision, describing the legal dispute as a major impediment that had prevented the project from moving forward.
Sunrise had pursued substantial financial claims against Nigeria arising from disputes over agreements connected with the project.
The tribunal rejected the company’s $400 million claim under a 2020 settlement arrangement and ruled on other aspects of the wider dispute.
It also ordered Sunrise and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria for 75 per cent of its legal fees and expenses, amounting to about $11.82 million.
WHAT HAPPENS TO MAMBILLA NOW?
The arbitration victory principally settles a major legal dispute; it does not itself restart the project.
The Federal Government would still have to determine the project’s implementation structure, financing, contractors and other requirements before substantial construction can proceed.
The ruling could, however, give the government greater room to reorganise efforts to develop Mambilla without the same arbitration claim hanging over the project.
The long-delayed scheme has gone through different proposed capacities and contractual arrangements. The dispute at the centre of the arbitration concerned a 2003 arrangement for a 3,050MW plant, while more recent government plans have envisaged a larger development.
TINUBU HAILS BUHARI, OBASANJO
Tinubu commended Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi and Nigeria’s legal team for their handling of the arbitration.
He also praised former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who provided testimony in the proceedings, alongside former ministers Babatunde Fashola and Suleiman Adamu.
Sunrise commenced arbitration against Nigeria in 2017, seeking about $2.35 billion over an alleged breach connected with the project. The dispute later produced a 2020 settlement arrangement and further arbitration proceedings.
For the Mambilla project itself, Thursday’s ruling therefore represents legal clearance rather than project completion or an immediate construction restart. The next major test will be whether the Federal Government can translate the removal of the legal obstacle into a viable financing and implementation plan for the long-delayed power project.