EFCC Opens Fresh Probe Into Mambilla Power Deal, Atiku, Malami, Others Named

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has commenced a fresh investigation into individuals linked to alleged questionable transactions surrounding the controversial Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.

The development follows a recent ruling by an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris, which rejected major claims brought by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited against Nigeria over the 3,960-megawatt Mambilla project in Taraba State.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the EFCC has constituted an investigative team to examine the transactions and individuals mentioned in the tribunal’s findings. The team is reportedly being supervised by EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.

The tribunal’s September 16, 2026 award examined several payments and dealings involving Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power, and a number of Nigerian politicians and former public officials.

Those named included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, his former wife Jennifer Douglas, former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, former Minister of Power and Steel Olu Agunloye, former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki and his son Abubakar Dasuki, former Solicitor-General of the Federation Abdullahi Yola and former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power Dere Awosika.

One of the transactions examined by the tribunal involved a $500,000 payment made by Adesanya in January 2003 from an account linked to his company to a US bank account belonging to Jennifer Douglas, who was then Atiku’s wife.

Adesanya reportedly described the payment as part of a foreign-exchange transaction conducted for Atiku through his bureau de change business. However, the tribunal said documentary evidence supporting that explanation was not provided.

The tribunal also noted that neither Atiku nor Douglas submitted a witness statement or declaration supporting the explanation for the transaction.

Another transaction examined was a $1.74 million payment to Abubakar Dasuki, son of former NSA Sambo Dasuki. The tribunal questioned the explanation that the payment was a loan, citing the absence of a loan agreement and inconsistencies in the evidence presented.

Malami also featured prominently in the tribunal’s findings concerning a 2020 settlement agreement between Nigeria and Sunrise Power.

The tribunal concluded that a corrupt arrangement had been reached between Malami and Adesanya in connection with the settlement agreements. It also found that the agreements were not binding on Nigeria because they lacked the required presidential approval and were unenforceable on public-policy grounds.

The ICC tribunal ultimately rejected Sunrise Power’s claims against Nigeria and ordered the company and Adesanya to reimburse Nigeria approximately $11.8 million in legal fees.

The EFCC’s new investigation is expected to establish whether any of the transactions or dealings identified in the tribunal’s findings violated Nigerian criminal laws.

Sources cited by Premium Times said Atiku and Douglas could be invited by the EFCC for questioning in the coming days or weeks. An EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, reportedly confirmed awareness of the development but said he had not been fully briefed on the details.

Meanwhile, Atiku has rejected suggestions that the ICC arbitration amounted to a corruption verdict against him.

Through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President challenged critics to identify any portion of the tribunal’s award where he was found to have received a bribe, influenced the award of the Mambilla contract or participated in a corrupt conspiracy.

Atiku maintained that he neither sat on the procurement panel nor awarded the contract to Sunrise Power, arguing that the tribunal’s concerns about the $500,000 transaction should not be presented as a criminal finding against him.

The fresh EFCC probe is therefore expected to focus on the financial transactions and relationships highlighted in the ICC award, as investigators examine whether further criminal proceedings are warranted.