•Substantive application to set aside award now to be heardA court in the United Kingdom has delivered an unprecedented judgment, permitting Nigeria to proceed with its challenge of an arbitral award made against it over three years ago, and also agreed that the country had established a prima facie case of fraud against the benefiting firm, Process and Industrial Development .
The country had in July filed an application for extension of time to enable it submit necessary evidence to prove that the said P&ID contract was a scam abinitio. “… That Nigeria’s counsel in the arbitration, Mr. Shasore dishonestly failed to challenge Mr. Quinn’s perjured evidence or to seek disclosure from P&ID such that Tribunal had no choice but to find favour…
It added that Nigeria “is relying on a number of ongoing investigations” across multiple jurisdictions, including the U.S, to build its case. “The Federal Government will now proceed to a full hearing of our fraud challenge in the coming months. Investigations into the GSPA are ongoing, and we are firmly committed to overturning the award – no matter how long it takes – to ensure that this money goes towards Nigeria’s future, not into the pockets of millionaires trying to exploit our country,” the statement added.
A statement by presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said the president commended Nigeria’s legal team which achieved the feat. “In our view, the judgment is right, just and provides a strong prima facie case that the fraudulent gas deal with P&ID and the subsequent judgment 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 our country.”