Nigeria obeys English court order — deposits $200m in P&ID case

The federal government has deposited the sum of $200 million as bond with a London court in the $9.6 billion judgement against Nigeria in its case with Process & Industrial Development (P&ID) Limited.

In September, Christopher Butcher, judge of a commercial court in London, ordered Nigeria to deposit the sum while granting the country’s request for a stay of execution in the case.

We previously reported that Nigeria could still escape the $9.6 billion award in favour of P&ID if $200 million was deposited in 60 days.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, confirmed that the deposit has been made.

He said the payment was done after approval by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Malami said the Nigerian legal team is still working to have the judgement overturned, adding that the country “does not plan to forfeit the guaranteed sum to the High Court in UK”.

“The Federal Republic of Nigeria today provided the English High Court with a bank guarantee as a security in compliance with the Court order,” the statement read.

“This variation in security, which was proposed by Nigeria as an alternative solution during a procedural hearing on 22nd November, has been accepted by the Court and P&ID. The deadline was extended by the Court to the 28th November.

“The provision of today’s security is a positive step forward for Nigeria to overturn the injustice of the US$9.6 billion award, which was a direct result of fraud and corruption.

“Over the last few weeks, investigations have revealed a very serious fraud, bringing into question both the legitimacy of the GSPA (gas supply and processing agreement) and the subsequent award itself.

“As a result of these investigations, the Federation has recently expanded its legal team, which will now enable us to launch in full our challenge against the fraudulently procured agreement and award.”

P&ID reportedly entered a gas supply and processing agreement with Nigeria in 2010. The company claimed Nigeria breached the terms of the contract.

It then took a legal recourse, securing an arbitral award against the country, which has accumulated to $9.6 billion.

In September, a federal high court in Abuja ordered the forfeiture of the company’s assets in the country to the federal government. Some individuals linked to the company were also convicted of fraud and economic sabotage.