Nigeria: Govt Challenges UK Court Asset Seizure

The Nigerian government has formally appealed a decision by a court in London which requires it to pay $200 million to Irish energy company Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) for a stay on asset seizures whilst it challenges another ruling.

A 2010 deal between P&ID and the Nigerian government for the company to develop a gas-processing plant collapsed in 2013, and P&ID won a $6.6 billion arbitration award, which has been accruing interest since then and is now worth $9 billion.

A judge gave Nigeria permission to seek to overturn the ruling on appeal in September and granted it a stay on any asset seizures P&ID may be liable to.

But in exchange for that the court ordered the government to pay $200 million within 60 days, the deadline of which is now next week.

On Wednesday Attorney General Abubakar Malami confirmed the government had lodged the appeal but would not grant any further details, simply saying “We have appealed against the payment”, in Abuja.

The government claims P&ID won the contract through corrupt means, and the project was never meant to succeed, but P&ID deny any wrongdoing.