A Court in London has quashed a $11 billion damage bill against Nigeria put forward by Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited gas company.
The bill charge was brought forward against Nigeria for a collapsed gas processing project in Cross River, Nigeria.
According to Reuters, the court ruled that the gas processing project was procured with a bribe paid to Nigeria oil ministry officials.
In the judgment, Judge Robin Knowles pointed out that P&ID did not disclose the bribery when it proceeded to arbitration against Nigeria.
In a subsequent judgment issued on Thursday, he therefore declared that the damages should be nullified without delay, dismissing P&ID’s claim to return the case to arbitration.
Recall in October the High Court ruled that the contract procured by Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) was through bribery and fraud.
The judgment was delivered by Judge Robin Knowles.
£20 million in damages and compensation
Earlier this month, Judge Robin Knowles ordered Process & Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID) to pay Nigerian government £20 million in damages and compensation.
P&ID had filed for fresh arbitration to revive their claims against Nigeria for alleged breach of a 2010 gas supply agreement.
However, the High Court in London ruled that the arbitration could not proceed as long as the 2023 judgment remained in place.
The judge found that P&ID had paid bribes to Nigerian officials involved in the drafting of the gas supply and processing agreement (GSPA) in 2010.
Backstory
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 to obtain the contract.
P&ID refuted the accusation and leveled claims against the Nigerian government, stating that they were making “unfounded allegations and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.”
Meanwhile, 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”.
