BEVERLY HILLS, August 22, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), Thursday said government would punish every official (serving or retired) responsible for arranging the botched gas deal between Nigeria and Process & Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID) that has potentially caused the country a whopping $9bn in default penalty.
Speaking during his first full day in office in Abuja after his re-appointment to the office, Malami promised to pursue judicial reforms including proposing an amendment of the Constitution that would provide an innovative way to tackle congestion of cases at the Supreme Court. He said the anti-corruption agencies, under his watch, would be beaming searchlight on banks, and other financial institutions, and non-designated financial institutions, which he claimed aid major corrupt practices in the country.
“It must be placed on record that the Federal Government strongly views with serious concerns the underhand manners by which the negotiation, signing and formation of the contract was carried out by some vested interests in the past administration in connivance with their local and international conspirators all in a bid to inflict grave economic adversity on the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the good people of Nigeria.
“As a government that has the mandate of the people, and their interests at heart, we shall not fold our arms and allow this injustice to go unpunished as all efforts, actions and steps shall be taken to bring to book all private individuals, corporate entities and government officials – home or abroad and past or present – that played direct and indirect roles in the conception, negotiation, signing, formation as well as prosecution of the purported agreement,” he said.
THEWILL recalls that a British court approved the award against Nigeria on August 19, 2019 following an arbitration award against the federal government. Nigeria has however appealed the judgment on the premise that P&ID did not fulfill its part of the deal and moreover that a judgment cannot be issued against a sovereign state by a foreign court.
