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The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has called on African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race over a controversial $500,000 payment made to his former wife, Jennifer Douglas, during negotiations surrounding the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.

The demand followed revelations from a final award issued by a three-member International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris in the long-running dispute between Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited and the Federal Government.

The tribunal ruled in favour of Nigeria, rejecting Sunrise Power’s claims and ordering the company and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria for 75 per cent of its legal costs.

At the centre of the controversy is a $500,000 transfer made by Adesanya on January 30, 2003, through China Castle Investments Limited, an offshore company he controlled, into Douglas’s Citibank account in the United States.

The payment came less than four months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded a 3,960-megawatt Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract for the Mambilla project in Taraba State.

Tribunal Questions $500,000 Payment

During the arbitration, Adesanya told the tribunal that the $500,000 was part of a foreign-exchange transaction carried out on behalf of Atiku.

However, the tribunal did not accept the explanation, noting the absence of documentary evidence showing the underlying naira payment, exchange rate, instructions from Atiku or his aides, correspondence relating to the transaction or records establishing its commercial purpose.

The tribunal also noted that neither Atiku nor Douglas testified or submitted witness statements to corroborate Adesanya’s account.

It further questioned the explanation because the payment was made during the period when Sunrise was pursuing the Mambilla project and months before the company was purportedly awarded the contract.

The tribunal’s findings, however, concerned the evidence and claims before it in the arbitration; they did not establish in the award that Atiku personally received a bribe.

Mambilla Contract Controversy

The Mambilla project, initially conceived in 1982 as a 3,050MW hydropower scheme, later became the subject of negotiations involving Sunrise and its Chinese partner.

Sunrise expressed interest in developing the project from 2001 and subsequently submitted proposals to the Federal Government.

A technical committee eventually recommended Sunrise for the 3,960MW project in March 2003.

Former Minister of Power Olu Agunloye later issued a letter which Sunrise relied upon as evidence that it had been awarded the project.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, however, maintained that the Federal Executive Council never approved the contract and that he directed the withdrawal of the relevant memorandum.

The disputed letter subsequently became central to Sunrise’s multibillion-dollar arbitration claims against Nigeria.

APC Accuses Atiku of Conflict of Interest

Reacting to the tribunal’s findings, APC Presidential Campaign Council spokesman Dele Alake accused Atiku and Agunloye of working together to facilitate the disputed Sunrise contract.

Alake described the $500,000 payment as an alleged bribe connected to the Mambilla deal and argued that its timing raised questions about a possible conflict of interest involving Atiku, who was vice-president at the time.

The APC spokesman also criticised Atiku for not appearing as a witness before the tribunal, saying his testimony could have helped clarify the circumstances surrounding the payment.

The campaign council subsequently demanded that Atiku withdraw from the 2027 presidential contest.

Long-Running Mambilla Legal Battle

The dispute over the Mambilla project has continued for years.

Sunrise previously pursued billions of dollars in claims against Nigeria, alleging breaches relating to the proposed project.

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A surviving miner has alleged that an unidentified substance was sprayed inside a detention cell shortly before several suspected illegal miners began collapsing while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.

The survivor made the allegation while recounting his experience in detention during a visit to the state by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

According to the miner, detainees were locked inside a cell before an unidentified substance was sprayed into the facility.

He alleged that shortly after the substance was released, some of the detainees began experiencing difficulties before collapsing.

«“They sprayed something inside the cell after locking us in, and people began collapsing,” the survivor reportedly said.»

The allegation comes amid growing scrutiny over the circumstances surrounding the deaths of suspected illegal miners who were detained by security authorities in Niger State.

The survivor did not identify the substance allegedly sprayed inside the cell, nor did he state who allegedly authorised or carried out the action.

He also did not provide details on the number of detainees who were affected or establish whether the alleged spraying directly caused any of the reported deaths.

The NSCDC and other relevant authorities have yet to publicly respond to the specific allegation.

The account is likely to intensify calls for a thorough investigation into the treatment of the detainees and the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

Establishing what happened inside the cell would require further investigation, including determining the identity of the substance allegedly used, who introduced it into the facility and whether there was any link between the incident and the subsequent collapse or deaths of detainees.

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Enugu State politician, Prince Ikechukwu Oloto, also known as Okanga Moo, has reportedly been killed in an attack at his residence in Nsukka Local Government Area of the state.

Oloto was allegedly attacked by unknown assailants at his home in the Odenigbo area of Nsukka on Thursday evening.

According to reports by Daily Post, the attackers invaded the politician’s residence and killed him during the incident. The report further alleged that a knife was used in the attack.

The circumstances surrounding the reported killing remain unclear, while the identities and motive of the attackers had not been established as of the time of filing this report.

The incident was also reported on Facebook by social media influencer Sen. Chijinkem Ugwuanyi, who claimed that Oloto was killed at his Odenigbo residence.

The reported killing comes amid heightened political activities and preparations ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections. However, there is currently no confirmed information linking the attack to Oloto’s political activities.

The Enugu State Police Command had yet to publicly confirm the reported killing or disclose whether an investigation had commenced as of the time of filing this report.

Further details are expected as authorities investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.