ABUJA — Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has formally broken his silence regarding adverse findings contained in a recent International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration award, categorically denying allegations of corrupt dealings while celebrating Nigeria’s complete legal victory over Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
In a official statement issued on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, through his Special Assistant on Media, Mohammed Doka, Malami welcomed the 616-page final award delivered in Paris on September 16, 2026, which dismissed Sunrise Power’s $3.38 billion claim against the Federal Government concerning the 3,050-megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State.
Reacting to media commentary highlighting findings by the Paris-based tribunal that he acted against federal interests and engaged in an improper arrangement with Sunrise promoter Leno Adesanya, Malami cautioned the public against misinterpreting the administrative arbitration proceedings as a criminal trial. He emphasized that the ICC sessions were strictly commercial dispute resolution proceedings between two contracting parties and did not constitute a criminal prosecution or judicial conviction against his person.
Dismissing assertions that he compromised Nigeria’s sovereign defense, Malami insisted that he inherited the protracted Sunrise litigation rather than creating it. He maintained that all actions taken during his tenure as chief law officer were executed in good faith to limit the federal government’s legal exposure to multi-billion-dollar liabilities.
Malami specifically refuted findings regarding a renegotiated 2020 settlement agreement and its subsequent addendum—which the tribunal noted had escalated potential default liabilities to $400 million plus daily compounded interest without explicit presidential approval. The former Senior Advocate of Nigeria rejected any insinuation that official settlement frameworks were negotiated in exchange for personal financial benefit, asserting that once Sunrise attempted to enforce unapproved terms, his office instructed federal defense counsel to aggressively resist the firm’s demands in court.
While acknowledging the gravity of the tribunal’s observations, Malami urged the public and legal analysts to review the complete documentary and evidentiary records of the case. He expressed satisfaction that the primary objective of safeguarding Nigeria’s national treasury from predatory international claims had been fully achieved, clearing the ultimate legal hurdle to resume work on the Mambilla power infrastructure.
