The President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has welcome the judgement by the United Kingdom (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.
A judge of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, Ross Canston, had Thursday granted Nigeria’s application for an extension of time and relief from sanctions.
The Federal Government described the judgement as right and just, alleging that it would provide a strong prima facie case that the fraudulent gas deal with P&ID and the subsequent judgement 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 the country.
“On the arbitration award, it is a source of huge satisfaction that the UK Court, among others, had ruled that:
‘‘Nigeria has established a strong prima facie case that the Gas Supply and Processing (GSPA) was procured by bribes paid to insiders as part of a larger scheme to defraud Nigeria.
‘‘There is also a strong prima facie case that that (P&ID) main witness in the arbitration, Mr. Quinn, gave a perjured evidence to the Tribunal, and that contrary to that evidence, P&ID was not in the position to perform the contract.’’
The Presidency expressed delight with the processes that led to this outcome in the English Court, noting that it has given relief to the Nigerian government to further protect our national assets from criminally-minded organisations and individuals.
The views of the UK court thus provide sufficient grounds for the Federal Government to go ahead and challenge the alleged frauds perpetrated by the company and overturn the arbitration award.
Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, commended the team of lawyers who represented Nigeria in the matter with P&ID.
He reassured all well-meaning Nigerians and the international community of his unwavering commitment to fight corruption in all its forms and manifestation.
