P&ID: Nigeria may file fresh suit to challenge contract

Towards filing an appeal against a London court judgment which endorsed the $9.6 billion arbitration tribunal award to the Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Limited, a Federal Government delegation which left Abuja for London on Saturday is expected to hold a press conference today to sensitise the global audience.

While abroad the team would also explore other means to nullify the award, which may include institution of a fresh case based on new realities recently uncovered by Nigeria on the gas contract.

Dr Umar Gwandu, Senior Special Assistant, Media and Communication to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, told the Nigerian Tribune that while in London, the team would meet with the international legal representatives to explore every possible avenue to set aside the judgment.

The controversial case award has been a subject of global discussion, especially since the London court had granted permission to the company to seize Nigeria’s assets internationally.

The London judge’s decision converted the arbitration award into a legal judgment, which would allow P&ID to seize Nigeria’s international assets even though the assets used for diplomatic purposes are not eligible for seizure according to legal experts.

Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata said as soon as the judgment was delivered on August 16, government instructed its lawyers to appeal against the ruling.

Sources at the Federal Ministry of Justice told the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja that the delegation comprised the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Solicitor-General, Director of Consumer Protection at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Minister of Information and Culture and others from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Presidency and other relevant agencies.

The team “is to discuss with the legal team on the strategy”, adding that “no possibility is ruled out.

“All cards are on table but it all depends on the beneficial that has the potency for setting aside the award having regards to the applicable law in the circumstances,” Gwandu said.

“Possibility of filing a new case and or using existing proceedings to seek the relief of setting aside the award cannot be ruled out,” Gwandu added.

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The August 16 judgment ruling revolves a case which started in 2010 when an agreement to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State, collapsed between Nigeria and the Irish firm after the former allegedly failed to live up to its side of the deal.

Before August 16, P&ID had in 2013 won a $6.6 billion arbitration case but that figure rose to $9.6 billion when the estimate of what the company could have earned over the course of the 20-year agreement was calculated.

The Nigerian government had tried to nullify the award, insisting that it was not a case to be heard outside its shores but the British judiciary rejected the argument.

Another source explained that the delegation would rely on last week’s judgment of a Federal High Court where P&ID and its directors pleaded guilty to an 11-count charge of fraud, tax evasion and money laundering.

They were convicted while the Nigerian affiliate of P&ID’s was ordered confiscated to government.

Also last week, a former director of Legal Services at the petroleum ministry was also charged for alleged wrongdoing over the contract award, including taking bribes and signing an illegal contract.