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Coalition of Civil Society Groups on Monday in Abuja protested against the $9.6bn judgement delivered last month by a UK court against the Nigerian government in favour of an Irish Company – Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID).
The group – an umbrella body of over 5,000 Civil Society Organisations – protested at the British High Commission and later at the Irish Embassy in Abuja.
Marching out in their hundreds, they called the $9.6bn judgement a big fraud and called on the British and Irish governments to ensure a quick reversal of the purported deal and consequent judgement.
In a protest letter which they addressed to the British High Commission, they expressed their concern on the judgment which they say would hurt the economy.
They specifically demanded that the judgement by the commercial UK court be set aside considering wide ”evidence” that the judgement is ill motivated and undermines the sovereignty of Nigeria.
They also asked that the Nigerian government and the P&ID should go back to the position of the arbitration tribunal in July 2015 where it concluded that Nigeria should pay the sum of $850m notwithstanding any out-of-arbitration agreement.
The letter seen by BusinessDay was jointly sgned by their president, Etuk Bassey Williams and Secretary General, Abubakar Ibrahim.
“We consider the judgement as a travesty to justice, disrespect to the sovereignty of the Nigerian government as the case is not supposed to be heard in a foreign country outside the country where the said irregularity was committed.
“We also consider it as deliberate effort to deter the effort of the Nigerian government towards the fight against corruption.
“We are strongly opposed to this judgement,” the protesters insisted, while recognizing the cordial relationship that has existed between the British and Nigerian governments.
Carrying several placards with inscriptions like “Individuals involved in the signing of the P&ID agreement must be brought to book now; Boris Johnson, help President Buhari to fight corruption, among several others, the CSOs said the judgement was designed to put Nigeria in chains and “we have come to say a big no.”
According to them, “Nigeria is a sovereign nation and will not take this judgement just like the British and Irish governments wouldn’t have.”
Chanting songs of solidairity, they stressed they would challenge this with every blood flowing in their vein. “we will go everywhere possible to stop this, including the International Court of Justice, United Nations, among others.
“We have come to say a big no to this judgement and to stand with our government.”
According to them, the August 16, 2019 judgment delivered in a case instituted by P&ID against the Nigerian government on the gas supply processing agreement with NNPC is in bad light and is capable of destroying a wholehearted relationship built over the years between the Nigerian government and British government.
More so, that a tribunal in London in July 2015, have earlier ruled that Nigeria should pay the sum of $850 million notwithstanding an out-of-arbitration agreement.
“We consider the judgement as an error and a miscarriage of justice considering that, “the company P&ID did not initiate any move to build the gas processing plant to refine the natural gas, which it signed to build.
“The company never conducted an environmental impact assessment which is a pre-requisite to any industrial activity in Nigeria and also a global practice.
“The Company has not been able to show capacity or any core competence in handling gas projects of such magnitude.
“That there are convincing evidence that the contract didn’t follow due process and thus doesn’t warrant any breach of contract.
They said it was disheartening that the questionable commitment and resolve of the tribunal sitting in UK to go ahead with the judgement despite being served the court ruling in Nigeria which gave the Nigerian federal government the leave to review the contract due to irregularities found in the way and manner with which the contract was signed.
“While we appreciate and respect the responsibility and duty of courts, we frown at the steps taken by the P&ID and the tribunal in UK towards the dispute involving Nigerian government and P&ID.
Thus we use this medium to this illegal process and lack of due recognition of our sovereignty as a nation and the interest of the Nigerian people.
We urge the two parties to review the contract and negotiate the payment awarded against Nigeria.”
Onyinye Nwachukwu, Abuja
