President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja said the judgment by the United Kingdom court had given Nigeria the lead to protect its national assets from a criminally minded group.
The president hailed the judgment which granted reliefs sought by the country for extension of time to challenge the fine imposed on Nigeria over alleged breach of contract awarded to P&ID.
A statement by presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said the president commended Nigeria’s legal team which achieved the feat.
It also said the court ruling had established a prima facie case that the gas contract was fraudulent and only an attempt to defraud Nigeria of its hard earned resources.
According to the statement, the president is satisfied by the UK court’s pronouncement that, “Nigeria has established a strong prima facie case that the Gas Supply and Processing (GSPA) was procured by bribes paid to insiders as part of a larger scheme to defraud Nigeria.”
The statement read in part: “The presidency welcomes the judgment by the UK Court granting Nigeria’s application for an extension of time and relief from sanctions in a $10 billion arbitration case with P&ID in Nigeria.
“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.”
The statement quoted a part of the judgment that “there is also a strong prima facie case that P&ID’s main witness in the arbitration, Mr. Quinn, gave a perjured evidence to the Tribunal, and that contrary to that evidence, P&ID was not in the position to perform the contract,” adding that the presidency was excited by the different processes that led to the judgment.
It further said the judgment had provided a relief for the federal government to protect its assets from individuals and groups it described as fraudulent.
According to the statement, the court’s submission has given Nigeria the lead to challenge the alleged fraud and overturn the award, and that Buhari remained committed to the fight against corruption.
The statement added: “The Presidency expresses delight with the processes that led to this outcome in the English Court, noting that it has given relief to the Nigerian government to further protect our national assets from criminally-minded organisations and individuals.
“The views of the UK court thus provide sufficient grounds for the Federal Government to go ahead and challenge the frauds perpetrated by the company and overturn the arbitration award.
“President Buhari therefore commends the team of lawyers who represented Nigeria in the matter with P&ID, and reassures all well-meaning Nigerians and the international community of his unwavering commitment to fight corruption in all its forms and manifestation.”