Muhammadu Buhari returns back to Nigeria after testifying in $2.3bn Mambilla Power corruption case

Former President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Nigeria after testifying in an arbitration case filed by Sunrise Power against the country at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Court of Arbitration in Paris, France.

Bashir Ahmad, Buhari’s former Special Assistant on Digital Communications, shared a video on X showing the former president disembarking from an aircraft on his return.

“Former President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Nigeria after defending the country before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris in connection with the $2.3 billion arbitration case filed by Sunrise Power,“ he wrote on Friday.

The case stems from a $6 billion contract dispute involving the 2003 agreement to construct a 3,050MW power plant in Mambilla, Taraba State. Sunrise Power initiated arbitration in 2017, claiming $2.354 billion in damages for breach of contract and demanding a $400 million settlement after alleging Nigeria failed to honor a 2020 resolution agreement.

The presidency has denied allegations that Buhari was compelled to testify, emphasising that all witnesses for Nigeria’s defence, including Buhari and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, participated voluntarily.

Ahmad claimed former ministers Babatunde Fashola and Suleiman Adamu also testified in Nigeria’s defence.

Obasanjo, in earlier statements, denied authorising the former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, to commit Nigeria to the $6 billion power project, while Buhari stated in February 2024 that he never approved any settlement agreement with Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited regarding the project.