The Federal Government has announced that it has successfully recovered a total of $210 million in connection with the long-running legal battle involving Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID), a foreign firm that previously won a massive arbitration award against Nigeria.
According to Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the recovered funds include a $200 million bond earlier deposited with a UK court, as well as a $10 million award recently returned to Nigeria following the country’s victory in the legal proceedings.
Fagbemi made the disclosure on Thursday evening in Abuja during a meeting with the legal team that represented Nigeria in the high-profile case. He praised the dedication and hard work of the lawyers who helped the country secure the favorable outcome, particularly Shaistah Akhtar, who led the delegation, and Kofo Salam-Alada, a former Director of Legal at the Ministry of Justice.
“The whole country has celebrated our success in the Process & Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID) case and applauded my resilience and determination not to negotiate or settle with the fraudsters but many do not know that my strength was derived from dedicated and uprightness of the FGN-P&ID coordinating team which was led by Kofo Salam-Alada who gave me the necessary support,” the AGF stated during the meeting.
He also took a moment to acknowledge Mr. Salam-Alada’s contributions over the years and wished him well in his retirement from public service.
Providing more details on the financial recovery, Akhtar said that of the $20 million awarded to Nigeria after the case was overturned, $10 million has already been paid, while the remaining $10 million is currently being contested in court by P&ID.
She noted that Nigeria’s success in the case was notable, as only 14 percent of such international arbitration awards are ever successfully reversed.
The P&ID case, which stemmed from a failed 2010 gas processing deal, had led to a controversial $11 billion arbitration award against Nigeria. However, after a lengthy legal battle in UK courts, the judgment was nullified in 2023 due to evidence of fraud and corruption associated with the original contract and arbitration process.
