P&ID Case: UK court grants Nigeria’s request for relief from $10bn fine

The Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, has granted Nigeria’s application for an extension of time and relief from sanctions imposed on it in a case against Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID).

The judgment was delivered on Thursday by Justice Ross Cranston.

With this judgment, Nigeria has secured a landmark victory in its pursuit to overturn a $10 billion judgment awarded against it in 2017 by a tribunal.

A tribunal had on January 31, 2017, ruled that Nigeria should pay P&ID $6.6 billion as damages, as well as pre- and post-judgment interest at 7 percent. The current outstanding amount is estimated at $10 billion.

The federal government had approached the court to establish that the contract was awarded on illegal terms.

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.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on August 18, arraigned James Nolan, a Briton, and six companies over their alleged involvement in the contract.