Presidency Hails UK Court’s Judgement On $10b Case With P&ID

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President Muhammadu Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari

Presidency has commended a United Kingdom court for ruling in favor of Nigeria in a $10 billion arbitration case with the Process and Industrious Development Limited (P&ID).

Business and Property Court of England and Wales presided over by Ross Cranston, on Friday granted a pronouncement in favour of Nigeria, against P&ID.

Nigeria had applied for an extension of time and relief from sanctions in the $10 billion arbitration case, which the court granted.

Read Also: P&ID: Nigeria Secures Landmark Victory In Bid To Overturn $10b Judgement

Reacting to the judgement in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a statement on Friday, said that the Presidency welcomed the judgement, adding it had clearly shown that the earlier $10 billion judgement debt was an attempt to defraud Nigeria.

He stated;

The Presidency welcomes the judgment by the UK Court granting Nigeria’s application for an extension of time and relief from sanctions in a $10 billion arbitration case with Process and Industrious Development Limited (P&ID) in Nigeria.

In our view, the judgment is right, just and provides a strong prima facie case that the fraudulent gas deal with P&ID and the subsequent judgment debt of $10 billion against Nigeria was a clear attempt to cheat the country of billions of dollars by a company that had not invested one Naira in our country.

It further said the arbitration award is a source of huge satisfaction that the UK Court, among others, had given some of the rulings.

The Presidency, however, expressed delight with the processes that led to the outcome in the English Court, noting it has given relief to Government to further protect Nigeria’s national assets from criminally-minded organisations and individuals.

It stressed;

The views of the UK court thus provide sufficient grounds for the Federal Government to go ahead and challenge the frauds perpetrated by the company and overturn the arbitration award.

President Muhammadu Buhari therefore commends the team of lawyers who represented Nigeria in the matter with P&ID, and reassures all well-meaning Nigerians and the international community of his unwavering commitment to fight corruption in all its forms and manifestation.

Process & Industrial Developments, is company based in the British Virgin Islands, that signed a contract with the Federal Government for a gas supply deal in 2010.

However, according to P&ID, Nigeria failed to work with the terms of the deal, which made the firm carry out an arbitration action against the FG before a London tribunal in March 2013.

The tribunal then asked FG to pay P&ID$6.6 billion arbitration award, which then accrued interest which is now worth $10 billion.

Nigeria has since been making moves to overturn the judgement and has gotten court clearance to request documents from a P&ID stakeholder and review bank statements of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, as well as that of former petroleum ministers, Diezani Alison-Madueke and Rilwanu Lukman.

Federal Government then approached the court in July, establishing that the contract was awarded on illegal terms by bribing some certain people to win the contract.

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on August 18 also arraigned James Nolan, a Briton, and six companies over their alleged involvement in the contract.

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