Mambilla: Lawyers urge FG to drop ex-power minister Agunloye’s case after Paris ruling

The defence team of former Minister of Power Olu Agunloye has urged the Federal Government to consider discontinuing his trial over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project following a ruling by an international arbitration tribunal in Paris, Sahara Reporters reports.

The request came on Monday as the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja resumed proceedings after a three-month adjournment.

Agunloye’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, told the court that the International Chamber of Commerce tribunal in Paris delivered its ruling on September 17, 2026, in an arbitration initiated by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company.

He said paragraph 1107 of the 616-page ruling addressed the former minister directly.

Adedipe said he had written to the Attorney-General of the Federation and asked the court to adjourn for two weeks to allow a response.

Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie instead heard the prosecution’s sixth witness, former Cross River State Governor and ex-Minister of Power Liyel Imoke.

Imoke testified that he served as minister from 2003 to 2006 and wrote to Sunrise Power on September 4, 2003, saying neither the Federal Executive Council nor the President had approved the 2003 build-operate-transfer contract awarded by Agunloye. He described the contract as “unlawful, null and void.”

Under cross-examination, he admitted that he did not report the matter to any law enforcement agency, order an investigation or bring it to the Federal Executive Council.

The judge adjourned the case until November 2, 2026, for continued cross-examination. Additional trial dates were set for November 4, 9 and 11.