TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari has authorised the release of $200 million in the $9.6 billion awarded against Nigeria in its case with Process & Industrial Development (P&ID), according to PUNCH. 

In September, Christopher Butcher, judge of a commercial court in London, had ordered Nigeria to deposit the sum while granting the country’s request for a stay of execution in the case. 

TheCable had reported that Nigeria could still escape the $9.6 billion fine if $200m was deposited in 60 days. 

According to PUNCH, the federal government’s legal team confirmed the approval of the $200 million payment during a hearing at the London court on Friday.

“Before Justice Butcher today (Friday) in London, the Nigerian legal team acknowledged that President Buhari has authorised the steps to provide a bank guarantee for the $200m in security that was ordered by the English Court in September,” the newspaper reported citing a statement exclusively obtained from P&ID. 

“Moreover, the following steps have already been taken by the Nigerian Government: Ministry of Finance has received approval to proceed with obtaining the bank guarantee; Minister of Finance has submitted a request to the Central Bank of Nigeria to proceed with procuring the bank guarantee; the Central Bank of Nigeria has submitted a request to an unnamed foreign correspondent bank to issue the bank guarantee from London and provide the relevant information to the court.”

The statement added that Abubakar Malami, the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), is trying to avoid the payment of $200 million. The company said the witness statement presented by the AGF was not credible.

“The eleventh-hour gambit by Nigeria’s Attorney General Abubakar Malami to avoid paying the $200m in security to the English Court on November 25 has failed,” the statement read. 

“This is a major milestone and P&ID welcomes the outcome of today’s hearing in London. P&ID expresses hope that the Buhari administration will now accept the reality of the Arbitration Tribunal Award and the decision of the English Court – and end the ridiculous sham investigation and show trials conducted by the EFCC (Economic Financial Crimes Commission) in recent months.

“AGF Malami presented a witness statement that is neither credible nor believable and it impugns both the English court and the Arbitration proceedings chaired by Lord Leonard Hoffman. The ‘evidence’ cited by Malami and others is based purely and exclusively on a government-sanctioned campaign of harassment, intimidation and illegal detention of a number of individuals associated with P&ID or the GSPA contract. AG Malami’s campaign has been nothing more than a blatant perversion of justice and the rule of law.”

Malami did not answer calls placed to his telephone. He is yet to respond to a message seeking his reaction over the matter.  

In September, Buhari had described P&ID as a scam attempting to cheat Nigeria of billions of dollars.