'The war is far from over' - Buhari gives details of how Nigeria won $11bn P&ID case in UK court

Nigeria's former president, Muhammadu Buhari, says the country would have parted with about $15 billion if it had lost its arbitration dispute with Process & Industrial Development (P&ID) in the United Kingdom (UK).

The former president disclosed this in an article, “A matter of principle”, which he released on Sunday, October 29.

Buhari noted that during his tenure, he had tasked his late former Chief of Staff Abba Kyari and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to find a way to get a fair hearing and ensure Nigeria is not robbed of its hard-earned revenue.

His words:

"It was clear that far from the whole story had been told. I tasked Abba Kyari, my chief-of-staff and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, with finding a way, even at that late stage and despite so much conflicting advice, to get us a fair hearing.

"Working with a number of different agencies and senior officials of government, we began to find a huge amount of evidence, not all of which Justice Knowles was to accept. But he agreed that P&ID had paid bribes.

"He agreed that one of P&ID’s founders had committed perjury. And he agreed that P&ID had somehow found in its possession a steady supply of Nigeria’s privileged internal legal documents, outlining our plans, strategies and problems."

Buhari also noted that had Nigeria lost, the country would be so broke that it would not be financially capable of providing some basic infrastructures.

"Had Nigeria lost, it would have required schools not to be built, nurses not to be trained and roads not to repaired, on an epic scale, to pay a handful of contractors, lawyers and their allies - for a project that never broke ground," he wrote.

Writing further, the former president said though Nigeria has won the $11bn P&ID case, the war against corruption is far from over.

Buhari said Nigeria needs greater transparency in awarding contracts in the public and private sectors.

He added that there are many invisible contractors who quietly defraud Nigeria of millions of naira through out-of-court settlements.

According to Buhari, it was the "outlandish ransom" P&ID was asking for that exposed the contractors.

He wrote:

"Nigeria has won this battle with corruption, but the war is far from over. As Justice Knowles concluded:

“This case has also, sadly, brought together a combination of examples of what some individuals will do for money. Driven by greed and prepared to use corruption; giving no thought to what their enrichment would mean in terms of harm for others. Others that in the present case include the people of Nigeria, already let down in so many ways over the history of this matter by a number of individuals in politics and administration whose duty it was to serve them and protect them.” Well said."

What is the $11bn P&ID case?

The $11 billion P&ID case refers to a legal dispute between the Nigerian government and a British engineering firm called Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID).

The conflict arose from a failed gas supply contract in 2010, where P&ID was supposed to construct a gas processing plant and the Nigerian government was to supply gas.

However, the project never materialised, and P&ID sued Nigeria, claiming breach of contract. In 2017, a British court ruled in favour of P&ID and awarded them $6.6 billion in damages.

Subsequently, the case has seen various legal battles and negotiations, with the awarded amount, including accrued interest, potentially reaching $11 billion.

Nigeria eventually emerged victorious in its legal battle against P&ID in a London court on Monday, October 23.

A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE

by Muhammadu Buhari

RARELY in modern times can so few have tried to take so much from so many. If Nigeria had lost its arbitration dispute with Process & Industrial Development in a London court on 23 October, it would have cost our people close to USD15…

— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) October 29, 2023