Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), disclosed last night that the Nigerian delegation had left for the United Kingdom to discuss with the country’s legal team the possible strategies on how to deal with the recent development concerning the Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID) contract judgment.
Speaking on whether the Nigerian delegation leaving for UK are to file a new case based on the new realities of the contract or would build on the previous judgement, Malami said: “All cards are on table but it all depends on the beneficial that has potency for setting aside the award, having regards to the applicable law in the circumstances.”
The AGF added that no possibility is ruled out including, “possibility of filling new case or using existing proceedings to seek relief of setting aside the award of the contract cannot be ruled out.’’
The federal government recently served noticed that all government officials and others connected with the process through which (P & ID) got the Gas Supply and Processing Agreement (GSPA) with the federal government and later secured an arbitral award of $9.6 billion following Nigeria’s alleged default, would not escape the ongoing probe into the incident.
Malami, who recently briefed journalists in Abuja added that although security agencies had interrogated many prominent personalities in connection with the $9.6 billion awarded against Nigeria by a United Kingdom court, many more would soon be invited for questioning in order to get to the root of the matter.
In the wake of the judgment debt, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Inspector General of Police to get to the root of how P&ID, a company registered in British Virgin Island and promoted by and Irish, Mr. Michael Quinn, now deceased, got the GSPA in 2010 and the circumstances that led to Nigeria not fulfilling its contractual obligations under the agreement.
