The Business and Property Court in London has today ruled in favour of Nigeria in a $11 billion suit between the federal government of Nigeria and Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Ltd.
The judgment was delivered by Judge Robin Knowles.
Nigeria managed to reverse an $11 billion damages ruling on Monday regarding a failed gas processing project. The federal government contended that the project’s initiation was marred by a widespread bribery scheme.
In 2010, Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) secured a 20-year contract to build and operate a gas processing facility in the southern region of Nigeria.
P&ID entered into the agreement with Nigeria to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River state, but the company said the deal collapsed because the Nigerian government did not fulfil its end of the bargain.
Accusing Nigeria of contract breaches, P&ID resorted to legal action and ultimately won an arbitration award against the country.
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On January 31, 2017, a tribunal issued a ruling requiring Nigeria to compensate P&ID with $6.6 billion in damages, in addition to both pre- and post-judgment interest at a rate of 7%.
Ross Cranston, a judge within the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, granted the application in September 2020.
In court, however, lawyers representing the federal government alleged that P&ID executives had resorted to bribery in order to obtain the contract.
P&ID refuted the accusation and levelled claims against the Nigerian government, stating that they were making “unfounded allegations and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.”
Interest Rate Surged to $11 billion
In a court trial held in March, Nigeria contended that the contract had been acquired through deceitful methods involving bribery and perjury.
They asserted that the arbitration award now escalated to $11 billion due to accrued interest, should be invalidated.
Judge Robin Knowles sitting in a court in the UK ruled in favour of Nigeria, saying,
- “I have not accepted all of Nigeria’s allegations,
- “However, the arbitration awards were obtained by fraud and the awards were, and the way in which they were procured was, contrary to public policy”.
nice
Good judgement
Is there going to be any form of accountability directed towards the individuals implicated in this case, including the British, Irish, and Nigerian citizens, the proprietors of P&ID and their Nigerian enablers and co-conspirators?
Legal actions need to be initiated against them, either under the jurisdiction of the UK, in accordance with the UK Bribery Act, or within Nigeria, under the auspices of the Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offenses Act.
The prosecution of these individuals would uphold the integrity of legal and commercial operations, and serve as a deterrent to others who might contemplate engaging in similar nefarious activities.
Without accountability, it’s merely a matter of time before similar instances of grand corruption recur in Nigeria.