ICYMI: Nigeria’s $10bn dispute with P&ID goes to trial in 2023

A dispute between Nigeria and Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) has been scheduled for trial in the United Kingdom in January 2023.

According to Reuters, a spokesperson for the Nigerian government made this known on Thursday.

In 2019, a British court gave P&ID the go-ahead to seize Nigerian assets worth $9 billion over a 2010 contract.

The company claimed it entered into an agreement with Nigeria to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River state, but that the deal collapsed because the Nigerian government did not fulfil its end of the bargain.

Following the judgement, Nigeria applied for an extension of time and relief from sanctions.

The application was granted by Ross Cranston, a judge of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, in September 2020, thereby returning the case to arbitration.

The award, which has been accruing interest since 2013, is now worth $10 billion.

Nigeria had alleged that the gas deal was a scam designed to defraud the country.

Lawyers representing the federal government told the court that P&ID officials paid bribes to get the contract.

But P&ID denied the allegation and accused the Nigerian government of “false allegations and wild conspiracy theories”.

Nigeria has been making moves to overturn the judgement and has gotten court clearance to request documents from a P&ID stakeholder and review bank statements of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Diezani Alison-Madueke and Rilwanu Lukman, former ministers of petroleum.

Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has commenced the prosecution of individuals accused of financial impropriety in the P&ID deal.