The Federal Government of Nigeria has filed a new and substantive appeal in the English Court in London, the UK, against the Process and Industrial Development Limited, popularly called P & ID.
The filing of the appeal today, December 6, is considered to be a major step in the bid to overturn the injustice of the $9.6 billion award, challenged both the arbitrary award and its enforcement.
Nigeria lodged a fresh appeal against the subsequent High Court judgment.
The lawyers for Nigeria argued that, based on new evidence that has come to light in recent investigations, the original contract was a sham commercial deal and designed to fail from the onset.
They attributed the discovery to President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption efforts spearheaded by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
The lawyers further argued that the Gas Supply and Processing Agreement (GSPA), was procured based on fraud and corruption, even as the subsequent arbItrarary process was riddled with irregularities and deliberately concealed from the rest of the government.
Nigerian government had recently expanded its legal team to include leading London Firm: Mishcan de Reya. The team is being led by Shaista Akhar and partner as well as Mark Howa rd QC of Brick Court Chambers.
The expansion, according to the sources, is to enable the Federal Governments of Nigeria to launch in full, it’s investigations and challenges.
