A PREMIUM TIMES investigation into a secret offshore deal involving the family of former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki and businessman Leno Adesanya helped Nigeria win its case in the Mambilla power project dispute.
This investigation provided key evidence for the Nigerian government and its lawyers during the arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, France.
The investigation was published on 13 October 2021, as part of the Pandora Papers project. It detailed an offshore company, Hydropower Investments Limited, created for three members of the Dasuki family. This company was set up to hold shares in businesses linked to Adesanya, including Sunrise Power & Transmission Company Limited, which is at the center of the Mambilla dispute.
The ICC tribunal looked into this arrangement as part of Nigeria’s claims of corruption against Adesanya and his ties with the Dasuki family.
What PREMIUM TIMES Found
The PREMIUM TIMES investigation showed that Hydropower Investments was registered in the British Virgin Islands on 14 November 2013 through Trident Trust Company Limited, a secrecy provider. Both Adesanya and Abubakar Atiku Dasuki were listed as directors.
The beneficial shareholders were Abubakar Atiku Dasuki, Hassan Sultan Dasuki, and Asmau Iman Dasuki, all children of the former NSA. The company was designed to hold shares in Adesanya’s businesses, including 10 million shares in Sunrise Power and 1.5 million shares in Sino Africa.
The investigation found no proof that the Dasuki children paid for these shares. When Trident Trust asked how they would finance the acquisition, Adesanya claimed the funding was “carried interest through a loan to be arranged by the sponsor (Leno Adesanya) of the project.”
Adesanya acted as the main contact for Hydropower Investments and used his home in Lagos as the company’s address. Adesanya, through a representative, stated he did not receive any favours from Dasuki and only helped his children start a business. Dasuki's representative also denied asking Adesanya to set up the company for his kids.
Tribunal Reviews $1.74 Million Payment
The offshore deal was not the only transaction the ICC tribunal looked into. They also examined a $1.74 million payment made by Adesanya to Abubakar Dasuki, one of Sambo Dasuki’s sons, in December 2014.
The tribunal dismissed Adesanya’s claim that the payment was a loan, noting inconsistencies between his explanation and other evidence. “The Tribunal is not convinced by Mr Adesanya’s explanation that the USD 1.74 million constitutes a loan to Mr Abubakar Dasuki because of the inconsistencies between his account and other elements of the evidential record,” it stated.
The tribunal questioned why such a large transaction lacked a formal loan agreement. “The Tribunal would have expected a company like Sunrise, represented by a seasoned businessman like Mr Adesanya, to have recorded the transaction in a written loan agreement,” it said.
They noted that the recipient was the son of Sambo Dasuki, who was Nigeria’s National Security Adviser from June 2012 to July 2015. “The Tribunal does not accept that argument as it is generally accepted that payments to direct family members of public officials can constitute bribes, as is also reflected in the Nigerian Corrupt Practices Act,” it added.
Despite this, the tribunal did not find that the $1.74 million payment was linked to the Mambilla agreement. They mentioned significant red flags that were not cleared by other evidence.
PREMIUM TIMES learned that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) started looking into the financial dealings between Adesanya and the Dasukis after the newspaper reported their business relationship. A thorough review of Adesanya’s bank transactions later provided evidence of the large cash transfer to Mr Dasuki’s son.
Tribunal Cites PREMIUM TIMES Investigation
The link between the 2021 investigation and the arbitration emerged when the tribunal reviewed Nigeria’s claim about the alleged transfer of a stake in Sunrise Power to the Dasuki family via Hydropower Investments.
The tribunal noted that Nigeria based its allegation on documents that became public through PREMIUM TIMES’ reporting of the Pandora Papers leak. “Moving to the alleged transfer of a stake in Sunrise to the family of Mr Sambo Dasuki through Hydropower Investment Ltd, the Tribunal considers as follows. Nigeria bases its allegation in this respect on documents that came into the public domain following the leak of the so-called Pandora Papers,” they stated.
The tribunal’s statement included a note identifying the PREMIUM TIMES investigation as the source of the evidence. “Exh. R-45, Premium Times article entitled ‘Pandora Papers: Inside the secret deal between Sambo Dasuki’s family and a billionaire govt. contractor’, dated 13 October 2021,” cited the ICC award.
The 2021 investigation showed that Hydropower Investments was created in 2013 to hold 10 million Sunrise shares for the Dasuki family.
PREMIUM TIMES was the only Nigerian newspaper involved in this major global investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) based in Washington, DC.
PREMIUM TIMES Responds
As part of gathering evidence for the arbitration in the Mambilla dispute, Nigerian lawyers reached out to PREMIUM TIMES for more information and key documents related to the Pandora Papers story involving Adesanya and the Dasukis.
The newspaper directed the lawyers to the story and documents on its website. The lawyers and justice ministry authorities downloaded this information to build their argument against Adesanya’s alleged manipulation of Nigerian officials.
Idris Akinbajo, PREMIUM TIMES’ Managing Editor, said the paper is pleased to have helped Nigeria succeed in the arbitration. “This is another outstanding impact of the global Pandora Papers project in which PREMIUM TIMES was a key participant. We thank the ICIJ and other partners for that groundbreaking investigation. We are glad that our country, Nigeria, has now benefited massively from the project. We will keep doing our best to add value to our country, subregion and humanity.”
What Nigeria Would Have Lost
If Nigeria had lost the Mambilla project case at the ICC in Paris, the country could have faced financial damages of over $3 billion. The financial risk included two main claims from Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited.
One was a compensation claim of $2.35 billion to $2.7 billion, including interest, for an alleged breach of contract regarding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project. Another was a $200 million settlement claim and a $200 million default penalty, which could rise to $680 million with interest due to Nigeria allegedly breaching a 2020 settlement agreement.
Besides avoiding this huge liability, Nigeria also saved on legal costs. Instead of paying damages, the ICC ordered Sunrise Power and Adesanya to cover the legal costs, reimbursing Nigeria about $11.82 million, which is around 75% of the country’s legal fees and arbitration expenses.
“We are glad that our newspaper played an important role in saving Nigeria from this huge, potentially damaging liabilities,” Akinbajo added.
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