The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has constituted a special team to investigate financial transactions linked to the controversial Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.
The team is also tracing properties suspected to have been acquired with funds connected to the transactions.
The investigation is being supervised by EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, according to reports citing sources familiar with the matter.
The commission is reportedly reviewing evidence contained in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal’s final award on the long-running dispute between Nigeria and Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
Among those whose names featured in the proceedings are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, his former wife Jennifer Douglas, former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, former Power Minister Olu Agunloye and former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki.
Others include Dasuki’s son, Abubakar Dasuki, former Solicitor-General of the Federation Abdullahi Yola and former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power, Dere Awosika.
The ICC tribunal’s final award, dated September 16, 2026, examined several payments and financial dealings involving Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power.
However, the tribunal did not conclude that every questioned payment constituted a bribe. In several cases, it identified evidential gaps while describing some transactions as raising serious or significant red flags.
$500,000 Payment Linked To Atiku
One of the transactions under EFCC review is a $500,000 payment made in January 2003 by Adesanya’s China Castle Investments Limited to an account belonging to Jennifer Douglas, who was then married to Atiku.
The payment was made months before Olu Agunloye, then Minister of Power and Steel, issued the letter on which Sunrise later based its claim to the Mambilla project.
The tribunal questioned Adesanya’s explanation that the payment was part of a legitimate foreign-exchange transaction.
It said the timing of the payment, its connection to Douglas and Atiku’s role in the Mambilla process raised “significant red flags.”
The tribunal, however, did not find evidence that Atiku had actually used his government position to secure the Mambilla contract for Sunrise.
Atiku has also denied being indicted by the tribunal and maintained that he was not responsible for awarding the contract.
$1.74m Transfer To Dasuki’s Son
The EFCC is also expected to examine a $1.74 million payment made by Adesanya to Abubakar Dasuki, son of former NSA Sambo Dasuki, in December 2014.
Adesanya described the money as a loan, but the tribunal questioned the explanation because no loan agreement or other documentation establishing the transaction was produced.
The tribunal said the circumstances surrounding the payment raised “considerable red flags.”
It also noted that there was no concrete evidence that Sambo Dasuki intervened in the Mambilla process or used his office to assist Sunrise.
Malami Deal Also Under Review
Former AGF Abubakar Malami also featured prominently in the ICC proceedings over the 2020 settlement agreement between Nigeria and Sunrise.
The tribunal found that Adesanya and Malami had entered into a corrupt arrangement concerning a proposed share of the settlement proceeds.
It subsequently held that the settlement agreement and its addendum were products of corruption and were unenforceable.
No settlement payment was ultimately made after former President Muhammadu Buhari declined to approve the arrangement.
Agunloye, Yola, Awosika Mentioned
Olu Agunloye, who was Power and Steel Minister when Sunrise claimed it received the original Mambilla BOT contract, also featured in the tribunal’s findings.
The proceedings examined about N5.2 million paid to Agunloye through an intermediary in 2019.
The tribunal questioned the explanation that the money was humanitarian assistance for medical treatment, although it stopped short of conclusively linking the payments to the 2003 contract.
Agunloye is separately facing criminal proceedings over the Mambilla project and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The tribunal also examined payments involving Abdullahi Yola and Dere Awosika in connection with subsequent negotiations over the project.
The EFCC’s reported investigation is not limited to individual payments.
Investigators are also examining relationships among the parties, the movement of funds and properties that may have been acquired with proceeds connected to the transactions.
The commission is expected to determine its next steps after reviewing the available evidence, including whether any assets meet the legal threshold for forfeiture.
