Hassan Umar Farouq with agency report
After over five years of legal fireworks, Nigeria has finally succeeded in halting the enforcement of the $11 billion arbitration award in favour of Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Ltd.
In a judgment delivered via e-mail, the judge of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales, Robin Knowles, upheld Nigeria’s prayer on the grounds that the ill-fated gas processing contract was obtained by fraud.
Recall that in 2010, P&ID entered into an agreement with Nigeria to construct a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State.
In a swift reaction, President Bola Tinubu applauded yesterday’s judgment awarding the landmark victory to the Federal Government over P&ID Ltd.
According to a press statement issued yesterday by the President’s Special Adviser (Media & Publicity), Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu commended the UK Court for prioritising the merits of the case above all other considerations, following the judge’s dismissal of the $11.5 billion value of the award plus accumulated interest, previously won by P&ID over a failed 2010 deal to allegedly build a gas processing plant, on the grounds that the award was obtained by fraud,
The President said, “This landmark judgment proves conclusively that nation states will no longer be held hostage by economic conspiracies between private firms and solitarily corrupt officials who conspire to extort and indebt the very nations they swear to defend and protect.
“Today’s victory is not for Nigeria alone. It is a victory for our long-exploited continent and for the developing world at large, which has for too long been on the receiving end of unjust economic malpractice and overt exploitation.
“Nigeria is appreciative of the tremendous efforts of the defense team and acknowledges the role of the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Attorney-General in the process of defending Nigeria’s interest in this case”, Tinubu further stated.
