The long-running legal battle between Nigeria and Process & Industrial Development (P&ID) reached a decisive end on Wednesday as the United Kingdom Supreme Court dismissed P&ID’s appeal and ruled that the £43 million compensation owed to Nigeria must be paid in British pounds — not in naira as the company requested.
The unanimous judgment, delivered by a five-member panel led by Lord Robert Reed, also included Dame Simler, Lord David Richards, Lord Ben Stephens, and Lord Patrick Hodge.
The justices agreed that the payment should be made in the same currency Nigeria used to pay its lawyers during the fraud case against P&ID.
The verdict marks yet another victory for Nigeria in the protracted dispute over the collapsed 2010 gas processing deal that once threatened to drain over $11 billion from the country’s coffers.
A Contract That Turned Into a Legal War
P&ID had signed an agreement in 2010 to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State.
The project collapsed after Nigeria allegedly failed to meet its contractual obligations. The company then sued, claiming breach of contract, and in 2017 secured an arbitral award of $6.6 billion — later growing to about $11 billion with interest.
Nigeria fought back, alleging that the entire contract was a scam designed to defraud the country. “This was not a commercial contract gone wrong but a carefully orchestrated scheme of deceit,” Nigerian officials argued.
In October 2023, Justice Robin Knowles of the Commercial Court in London nullified the $11 billion award after finding that P&ID had paid bribes to Nigerian officials and illegally obtained the country’s privileged legal documents.
The court ordered the firm to pay £43 million to Nigeria as compensation for legal fees and disbursements.
P&ID, dissatisfied with the decision, appealed — arguing that the payment should be made in naira because Nigeria allegedly funded its legal costs by converting naira from its consolidated revenue fund.
P&ID’s Currency Argument Rejected
At the heart of P&ID’s appeal was a currency dispute. The firm claimed that paying in pounds would give Nigeria an unfair “windfall,” citing the massive depreciation of the naira since 2019.
When Nigeria paid its lawyers, P&ID noted, £43 million was worth about ₦25 billion. Today, with the naira’s slide, that same amount equals roughly ₦95 billion.
But the Supreme Court disagreed, ruling that the depreciation of the naira could not justify changing the currency of payment. The panel held that “English solicitors charged in sterling and Nigeria made its payments in sterling; there are no grounds to award costs in any other currency.”
The court further noted that the fall in naira’s value had already “resulted in a substantial diminution of its domestic purchasing power since 2019 and especially since 2023.”
“Contrary to P&ID’s submission,” the judgment added, “Nigeria does not enjoy a large windfall from this decision. We therefore dismiss the appeal and award Nigeria their costs on the standard basis.”
The UK Supreme Court’s ruling effectively closes one of the most controversial international arbitration cases in Nigeria’s history — one that once threatened to cripple the nation’s foreign reserves.
Rate, Like 👍, Comment 💬, Share this article, Follow us on our social media handles, and Submit your own story to get featured and earn rewards!
WhatsApp Channel
Telegram Channel
