THE promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Limited, Leno Adesanya has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of taking illegal actions to intimidate him over the Mambilla power project case.
He also accused the graft agency of using security agencies and other forms to threaten his family and associates.
This is coming just as the agency declared him wanted for “an alleged conspiracy and corrupt offer to public officers”.
Adesanya was mentioned in three of seven count charges against a former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, who is being prosecuted by the EFCC over the $6bn Mambilla hydropower contract.
Adesanya, in a letter written to President Bola Tinubu, requesting for urgent intervention to restrain EFCC harassment and intimidation, appealed to the president to caution the an-ti-graft agency to follow the rule of law.
According to him, the EFCC has taken unlawful actions to deny him the right to contest their allegations at the arbitration, while noting that Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Ltd (Sunrise) is currently engaged in international arbitration proceedings against the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) in Paris over the issue.
The international arbitration, he explained, concerns the contractual entitlements of Sunrise under a Settlement Agreement that was signed by Sunrise and FGN in 2020.
The letter read in parts:
“On 3 November 2023, FGN filed its Statement of De-fence in the Arbitration, in which FGN makes serious allegations of corruption (and other criminal acts) against me and various former FGN officials, including Dr Olu Agunloye. I deny these allegations unconditionally and intend to contest them in the Arbitration. However, my ability to do so is being impaired by the escalating actions of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria.
“The EFCC’s actions since 2021 have included the harassment of and extraction of statements from) dozens of persons with whom I have associated over a twenty-year period, armed raids of my private residence and offices in Lagos (without warrants), unlawful seizure of items of my property, and gross acts of intimidation against my wife and children that have caused lasting emotional damage.”
Adesanya revealed that he had sought a public conduct of the arbitration process which was declined by the federal government.
“It is self-evident that these aggressive and unlawful EFCC actions are being taken for the purposes of advancing FGN’s defence in the Arbitration. The fact that the EFCC action is for the illegitimate purpose of aiding FGN’s defence in the Arbitration is confirmed by the fact that, despite my repeated calls for the Arbitration to be conducted on a public basis, FGN has insisted that the Arbitration be private and confidential.
“While I have long publicly advocated for tough measures against corruption, and I respect the powers of government in this important area, the rule of law must be respected. It is an abuse of police powers to use an anti-corruption agency such as the EFCC to manufacture a defence to a commercial claim, and that is precisely what is occurring in the Arbitration.
“I humbly request that you intervene to cause the EFCC to adhere to the rule of law and refrain from further unlawful acts against me and my family. I have repeatedly informed the EFCC that I am willing to meet with their agents in London to give a statement concerning the matters under investigation, and I remain willing to do so despite what has occurred. I relocated out of Nigeria six years ago after an attempt on my life.
I am gravely concerned that, in the meantime, the EFCC will further escalate its campaign against me and persons with whom I have associated, in synchronization with FGN’s defence in the Arbitration.
“The life and liberty of my family members is at stake. EFCC agents with assault rifles have threatened my family. As a citizen of Nigeria, I humbly request that you intervene, in the name of the rule of law, to stop these gross abuses of power,” the letter added.
