Nigeria gets leave to appeal judgment permitting P&ID to seize Nigeria’s $9.6bn worth of assets

Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation

A Commercial Court in the United Kingdom on Thursday granted the Federal Government of Nigeria’s request to appeal the earlier judgment in which a lower court granted P&ID the right to seize the nation’s assets worth $9.6 billion.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed in a statement on Thursday said the development would enable the Government to appeal the Court’s recognition of the UK Arbitration Tribunal in the UK Court of Appeal and possibly quash the earlier ruling in favour of P&ID.

The Court also approved the government’s application for a “stay of execution” which will prevent the plaintiff, P&ID, from enforcing the UK Arbitration Tribunal’s earlier judgment, while this case is heard on appeal before the Court of Appeal.

Attorney General Abubakar Malami in a reaction expressed pleasure with the development in the court, adding, it is a positive resolution that constitutes an important step in the government’s efforts to defend itself in a fair and just process.

‘‘We look forward to challenging the UK Commercial Court’s recognition of the Tribunal’s decision in the UK Court of Appeal, uncovering P&ID’s outrageous approach for what it is: a sham based on fraudulent and criminal activity developed to profit from a developing country.”

It will be recalled that P&ID had won its case against Nigeria in August 2019.

The contract sum was initially awarded for $6.6 billion but rose to $9.6 billion due to accrued interest since 2013.

In its bid to quash the August ruling by the UK court, a federal government delegation comprising Attorney General, Abubakar Malami Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele and Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu proceeded to the UK to persuade a British court to set aside an order permitting P&ID to seize $9.6 billion worth of assets from Nigeria.

Experts say the $9.6 billion in question is one-third of Nigeria's 2020 budget, an  amount they said would be  enough to fund Nigeria’s broken school system for seven years.

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, President Muhammadu Buhari described P&ID as a fraudulent company desperate to defraud Nigeria.

“We are giving notice to international criminal groups by the vigorous prosecution of the P&ID scam attempting to cheat Nigeria of billions of dollars,”  he said.