Nigeria wins arbitration fraud challenge to multibillion-dollar award for gas project

Nigeria's government is celebrating a "landmark victory" after an arbitration UK court ruled it was not responsible for a multibillion-dollar payout earlier granted to a private firm concerning a failed gas project.

As reported by CNN, the West African nation had previously been instructed by an arbitration tribunal in 2017 to pay $6.6 billion, along with interest, in compensation to a British Virgin Islands-based engineering firm, Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID).

The company had filed a lawsuit seeking reparation for lost profits due to the breakdown of a 20-year agreement with Nigerian authorities in 2010 to construct a gas processing facility.

The awarded sum and accrued interest have now exceeded $11 billion, accounting for nearly half of Nigeria's federal budget for this year.

Disagreements stemming from both sides blaming each other for failing to fulfill their obligations led to the failed deal and initiated an extended legal battle.

Legal representatives for the Nigerian government contended that P&ID had enticed the country's officials with bribes to secure the contract. P&ID denied this allegation.

In delivering the judgment on Monday, Judge Robin Knowles set aside the previous ruling by the tribunal and concluded that the gas deal had been "acquired through fraudulent means" and was "contrary to public policy".

Knowles went on to say, "This case has also, sadly, brought together various instances of individuals pursuing financial gain at any cost. Driven by avarice and willing to engage in corruption, they gave no consideration to the harm their enrichment would cause to others".

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu welcomed Knowles' decision, describing it as a "landmark victory" that "is not just for Nigeria but also for our long-exploited continent and the developing world at large, which has endured unjust economic misconduct and blatant exploitation for far too long".