Former President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Nigeria after testifying in a case filed against Nigeria by Sunrise Power at the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in Paris, France.
Buhari’s return was disclosed with a video shared on X on Friday by former Special Assistant to the President on Digital Communications, Bashir Ahmad.
Buhari was spotted stepping off an aircraft as he returned from Paris.
Ahmad wrote, “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”.
It was reported that Buhari was summoned before the ICC to testify in the $6 billion Mambilla power contract dispute.
The presidency denied reports that it forced the former president to testify in the matter.
Although it did not deny the existence of such a proceeding, the presidency insisted that all those testifying in Nigeria’s defence were doing so willingly.
It was gathered that former president Olusegun Obasanjo also journeyed to France to testify in the case.
In 2017, Sunrise Power initiated arbitration against Nigeria at the tribunal, seeking a $2.354 billion award for alleged “breach of contract” regarding a 2003 agreement to build a 3,050MW power plant in Mambilla, Taraba State.
The plant, valued at $6 billion, was to be constructed on a build, operate, and transfer basis.
The company is demanding a $400 million settlement, claiming the Nigerian government failed to honour a 2020 agreement to resolve the dispute.
Obasanjo had denied authorising Olu Agunloye, the former Minister of Power and Steel, to commit Nigeria to the $6 billion power contract.
In February 2024, Buhari also stated he never authorised any settlement agreement with Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited on the project.
