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Group Gives UK, Irish Govts 21 Days To Reverse $9.6bn Judgement
A Coalition of Civil Society Groups, yesterday, continued its protest to the British High Commission and the Embassy of Ireland in Abuja over the award of a $9.6billion fine against Nigeria by a United Kingdom court following a botched oil deal with an Irish firm, Process & Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID).
Addressing the protesters at their resumed occupation of the Embassies, yesterday, the President of the group, Etuk Williams said the British and Irish governments have been given 21-day ultimatum to call P&ID to order.
They carried various placards with inscription such “$9.6billion judgement is a fraud”, “No to illegal takeover of our national assets”, “Nigeria rejects fraudulent judgment from British judge”, among others.
He described the judgment as a travesty of justice and disrespect to the Nigerian government.
He said while the group respects the responsibility of the courts, it frowns at the steps taken by the company and the tribunal in the UK towards the dispute involving Nigerian government and P&ID.
He said, “We are giving the British and Irish governments 21-day ultimatum to act and call the UK court, P&ID and Irish government to order.
“If after 21 days and nothing happens, we will come back to occupy the Embassies. We will sleep here, cook here and eat here until the judgment is reversed.”
The group stated that it embarked on the protests to send a strong message to the international community that Nigeria is not a lawless country.
He added, “Nigeria is not a banana republic, our request should not be taken for granted.”
He said the protest was suspended by the group to allow both the Irish and UK governments consider the request of the group to reverse the $9.6billion judgment.
However, the Federal Government, yesterday, urged Nigerians to ignore the ostentatious claims by the Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID) on compilation of Nigeria’s assets for attachment over a $9.6billion judgment debt.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the call in Abuja when he paid a working visit to the headquarters of the “Leadership’’ Newspaper in Abuja.
Briefing the management and editorial board of the medium on the purported gas contract that led to the judgment debt, the minister reassured that government would take legal and diplomatic actions to ensure no asset of the country was annexed over the case.
“You will see that there is a lot grandstanding on the part of the P&ID, especially by the public relations consultant it hired.
“As a matter of fact, they are already threatening that they are already compiling the list of assets of Nigeria to attach.
“The truth of the matter is that, even in the judgment, the court said that it cannot start any attachment until the court resumes from vacation.
“We are doing everything possible and we are very optimistic that we will escape any embarrassment of attachment of the country’s asset as a result of this dubious award.
“The Federal Government has taken all necessary steps to ensure that no property of the country is attached by any court.
“Government will leave no stone unturned, legally and diplomatically to ensure that our asset will not be affected as a result of the judgment,’’ he said.
The minister reiterated that the contract was a scam from inception with both local and international collaborators who aimed at depleting the nation’s foreign reserves.
‘`How can people come into Nigeria with portfolio and walk away with about 20 per cent of our entire foreign reserve?
“We believe that both in terms of morality and law, we are confident that we will upturn the judgment.
“It is important to know that the government has also ordered investigations into the transactions because there are strong indications that underhanded things went on,’’ he said.
A United Kingdom Commercial Court had in a ruling authorized P&ID, an Irish engineering and project management company, to seize $9.6billion in Nigerian assets over the failed gas contract.
The judgment was fallout of the contract purportedly entered into in 2010 between the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and P&ID, and subsequent award made in July, 2015 by an arbitration panel sitting in London in favour of the company.
