Tinubu Hails Nigeria’s Victory Over P&ID as a Triumph for Developing Nations

The President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, has expressed his delight over the ruling of a UK court that dismissed the $11.5 billion claim by Process & Industrial Development (P&ID) against Nigeria. Tinubu said the judgment was a win for Nigeria and the developing world, which has often been exploited by corrupt deals and economic malpractice.

P&ID, a British Virgin Islands-registered firm, had sued Nigeria over a failed 2010 gas deal that was supposed to build a gas processing plant in Nigeria. The firm had obtained an arbitration award of $6.6 billion in 2017, which had accumulated to over $11 billion with interest. Nigeria had challenged the award, alleging that it was obtained by fraud and bribery.

The UK court sided with Nigeria on Monday and dismissed the corrupt award given to P&ID. Judge Robin Knowles of the Business and Property Court in London said that the case showed how some people would do anything for money without caring about the damage they would cause to others. He said that in this case, the people of Nigeria were the ones who suffered from the corruption.

Bola Tinubu, the President of Nigeria, praised the UK court for giving a fair and just verdict. He said that the ruling showed clearly that no country would be trapped by shady deals between private companies and dishonest officials who try to steal and burden the countries they are supposed to serve and protect.

Tinubu said that this victory was not only for Nigeria but also for Africa and the whole developing world, which have been victims of unfair and abusive economic practices for too long.

He also thanked the defence team, the Federal Ministry of Justice, and the Office of the Attorney-General for their roles in defending Nigeria’s interests in the case.

P&ID, on the other hand, said that it was looking at its options after the judgment. The company has always denied all the accusations made by Nigeria.