Reports that the Presidency “forced” former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to testify in a Paris arbitration case have been refuted. It did not, however, refute the existence of such a procedure.
The Presidency asserted in a statement that all those who are testifying on behalf of Nigeria “are doing so willingly.” In response to news that went viral on social media, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, signed the statement.
According to reports, Buhari was called before the Paris court in an arbitration case involving the $6 billion Mambilla power deal dispute.
In violation of the conditions of a power generating and distribution contract that former President Olusegun Obasanjo gave to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company of Nigeria in 2003, the former president was “hauled before the court on Saturday,” according to the report.
In case number 26260/SPN/AB/CPB, it also claimed that Buhari was “grilled for hours on Saturday and would continue his testimony on Sunday before the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in Paris.” The Presidency has publicly referred to the reports as “fake news,” though.
“We wish to state categorically that President Bola Tinubu has not forced anyone to testify for or against Nigeria, while respecting the confidentiality of the proceeding,” Onanuga said.
