The court’s decision to clear a businessman from the EFCC’s Wanted list raises questions in the $6 billion Mambila fraud case. Discover the implications of this ruling.
Leno Adesanya, the promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Co Ltd, cannot be prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in relation to the $6 billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project fraud, according to a Federal High Court in Abuja ruling.
The court also directed the EFCC to take Adesanya’s name and picture off of its wanted list in Justice Inyang Ekwo’s ruling.
This ruling will remain in effect until Sunrise Power and the Federal Ministry of Power and Steel’s continuing contractual dispute is settled.
The EFCC was also instructed to remove any unfavorable information on Mr. Adesanya related to criminal accusations connected to the Mambilla Power Project contract.
Nonetheless, Adesanya’s request for N1 billion in compensation against the EFCC and other defendants was denied by the court.
Regarding the matter of recompense, I have already mentioned that the protection of the sanctity of the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration’s arbitral proceeding, which is based on UN Conventions on international dispute settlement, is the court’s current concern.
By virtue of AMA 2023, Nigeria (the second defendant in this action) has domesticated as well as signed.
The goal of this ruling is to make sure the parties are forced to comply. “This is the court’s order,” he declared.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the ruling was made in response to a lawsuit submitted by the plaintiffs’ attorney, M.S. Diri, with the case number FHC/ABJ/CS/267/2024.
The Federal Government of Nigeria, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the EFCC, and the ministry are the first through fourth defendants in the lawsuit.
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Regarding the Mambilla project, the EFCC had designated Mr. Adesanya as sought in connection with “an alleged case of conspiracy and corrupt offer to public officers.”
But Mr. Adesanya and Sunrise Power and Transmission Co Ltd., who are identified as the first and second plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit against the defendants via legal counsel.
In relation to the initiative, Mr. Diri requested a perpetual injunction prohibiting the EFCC from conducting additional research, inviting anyone, or posting Mr. Adesanya’s name as wanted on any of its social media accounts or notice boards.
Even though the case was already pending at the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in Paris, the senior attorney asked the court to rule on the appropriateness of the anti-graft commission’s investigation into the business transaction between his clients, the federal government, and the Ministry of Power.
He contended that Mr. Adesanya suggested building the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project using Sunrise Ltd. as the project’s special purpose vehicle in an effort to guarantee sustainable power in Nigeria.
According to him, Sunrise and its Chinese partners, China Hydroelectric Companies and North China Power, met with three power ministries in China on multiple occasions to discuss the Zungeru and Mambilla projects.
He claimed that although former President Olusegun Obasanjo had cleared financial discussions for the project in 2005 and 2006, the federal government had not yet paid any money to the plaintiffs about the contract.
He claimed that the company submitted letters to the Ministry of Power in an attempt to reach a mutually agreeable resolution for the project’s problems, which resulted in meetings between his clients and the government’s executive branch.
“After this, the federal government committed to paying the second plaintiff $200 million within 14 days of signing the terms of agreement; if they didn’t, 10% annual compound interest would start to accrue.
He declared, “The arbitration in Case No. 23211 was withdrawn as a result of the Terms of Settlement.”
In a letter dated April 22, 2020, he said, the federal government requested a review of the provisions through the AGF, instead of adhering to the agreement.
As a result, the attorney stated, “The second plaintiff instituted new arbitral proceedings: Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited v. Federal Government of Nigeria – ICC Case No: 26260/SPN/AB/CPB (Exhibits D and E)”.
He said that a virtual hearing for the arbitral proceeding was set for March 22.
In order to avoid their legal contractual duties, Mr. Diri said that the federal government and its security agencies, including as the EFCC, attempted to criminalize and scandalize the Mambilla Project despite the matter still being pending.
Attah Ocholi, the attorney for the EFCC, responded by claiming that charges were brought before a High Court as a result of evidence of criminal behavior against the plaintiffs that was discovered during the inquiry.
“Adesanya was the subject of an arrest warrant issued on December 14, 2023, to guarantee his appearance in court,” Mr. Ocholi stated.
The Federal Executive Council and the President did not approve of the investigation and prosecution, the EFCC stated, and it denied that it was being used by the federal government or any other organization to intimidate or conduct a witch hunt against the plaintiffs.
Justice Ekwo delivered the ruling, ruling that the arbitral procedures’ sanctity had to be upheld because the Ministry of Power had refuted the plaintiffs’ allegations and filed a counterclaim against them at the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration.
He emphasized that the Ministry of Power should not be viewed as a place where conducting business internationally is dangerous or where, in the event of a dispute, investors could be held to ransom by municipal agencies and regulations.
Mr. Ekwo noted that Sunrise Ltd. has initiated new arbitration proceedings, which are still in progress, against the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The judge acknowledged the EFCC’s contention that the basic rights guaranteed by the constitution are not unqualified, but he concluded that this claim could not be used as a shield against fundamental rights violations that did not follow constitutional guidelines.
The judge additionally declared that he could not find any legitimate defense from the EFCC with relation to the agency’s posting of Mr. Adesanya’s name and photo as a “wanted person” on its website.
Under ICC Case Reference No. 26260/SPN/AB/CPB, the contractual dispute between Sunrise Ltd. and the Ministry of Power and the Federal Government is currently pending before the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in Paris. Justice Ekwo subsequently declared that the commission was not legally entitled to investigate, resolve, or prosecute this dispute.
According to NAN, Olu Agunloye, a former minister of power and steel under President Obasanjo’s government, is presently being prosecuted by the anti-corruption agency in an FCT High Court about an alleged $6 billion hydropower deal in Mambilla.
According to the EFCC, Mr. Agunloye “corruptly received the sum of N3,600,000.00” from Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL) and Leno Adesanya for authorizing the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station project via his Guaranty Trust Bank account number: 0022530926.
