The Federal Government on Monday said the judgment rendered by Judge Robin Knowles of the Business and Property Court in London, awarding a landmark victory to the Federal Government of Nigeria over a firm known as Process & Industry Development (P&ID) Limited served as a damning indictment of predatory international investors.
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, stated this in his official reaction to the judgement while briefing State House reporters at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said the P&ID and its associates, both Nigeria and the world over, shamelessly attempted to defraud the country and enrich themselves through sharing the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s privileged document, fraud, bribery and corruption on an industrial scale.
Fagbemi stated that there would be further hearing by the United Kingdom court on the heels of this judgment to determine costs payable by P&ID and others in the matter.
The AGF, who spoke on how Nigeria secured victory in the P&ID case, attributed the success recorded to a close inter-agency collaboration of the federal government team.
He listed the team to include the Attorney General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigerian Police Force, Central Bank of Nigeria, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Department of State Security Service (DSS) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
Fagbemi said: “As you may all be aware by now, the Honorable Justice Robbin St. John Knowles of the United Kingdom commercial court today, handed down a historic judgment, in the suit, where the Federal Republic of Nigeria otherwise known as FRN, moved to set aside the arbitral award of $9.6 billion but which has now accrued interests now come to $11 billion, made against Nigeria in 2017 in favour of P& ID for an alleged breach of a gas supply and processing agreement, purportedly entered into with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to establish a gas processing plant in Calabar for which P&ID never secured any land sight.
“The arbitral award had over the years, played the assets of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and those of its agencies all over the world, at the risk of attachment, erosion of foreign reserves and distortion of monetary, fiscal and other policies of government with attended dire consequences for Nigeria and its people. These emphasized the need for the FRN to vigorously challenge and resist the enforcement of the award by P&ID.
“The High Court has today ruled that the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s challenge to the arbitration award granted against it, to an obscure hedged fund back VVI shell entity process an industrial development limited in 2017 has been successful.
“The judgement handed down today found that the award had been obtained by fraud and in a way which goes contrary to public policy. In particular, the judge concluded that P&ID obtained the award only by practicing the most severe abuses of arbitral process. It has been a night of long nights indeed.
“The success marks the culmination of a decade of legal action and is not just a victory for poor of Nigeria but any similar target of corruption and fraud. In the words of the lead counsel to Nigeria, Mark Orwell Casey, which the High Court in England endorsed and “P&ID was exactly the type of entity that was prepared to engage in bribery to achieve its aim to undermine the administration of justice in Nigeria, in the pursuit of riches young dreams of avarice.” This successful result is a decisive victory for the people of Nigeria, who stood to lose over $11 billion and for the Nigeria administration, which has now reached a milestone in its mission to challenge the scourge of corruption.
“The judgement also serves as a damning indictment of predatory international investors, who should now rightfully be deterred from prying upon Nigeria and other developing nations to satisfy their greed. P&ID and its associates, both Nigeria and the world over, shamelessly attempted to defraud the country and enrich themselves through sharing the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s privileged document, fraud, bribery and corruption on an industrial scale. Those efforts, which took place over many years have now finally been uncovered for all of us to see.
“It is imperative to point out that several agents of P&ID made overtures even as at last week to the Federal Republic of Nigeria for settlement on this case, however, the resolve of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to go hand in gloves with fraudulent counterparties or condone corruption informed the position of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to hold fast to its position, not to settle.
“Indeed, earlier this morning, the President at the opening ceremony of Nigeria Economic Summit Group retreated this Cardinal position of his administration. History has been made today, as this judgment is no doubt significant in the annals of Nigeria and indeed Africa. This judgment has vindicated the government and should serve as a pointer to others who might be nursing or nurturing the plan to swindle the country.”
