The federal government has said it has recovered the $200 million and another $10 million award it deposited as a bond in a UK court to defend the $11 billion arbitral award to Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Ltd.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, disclosed this in Abuja last night during a visit by a team of lawyers who defended the country in the UK to the Ministry, led by Shaistah Akhtar.
Fagbemi commended Akhtar and Kofo Salam-Alada, former directors of the Ministry of Law, for their efforts in obtaining a legal victory and recovering funds from the federal government.
According to him, “The whole country has celebrated our success in the Process & Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID) case and applauded my resilience and determination not to negotiate or settle with the fraudsters but many do not know that my strength was derived from dedicated and uprightness of the FGN-P&ID coordinating team which was led by Kofo Salam-Alada who gave me the necessary support.”
Mrs. Akhtar, in her remarks, highlighted the magnitude of the case, noting that the fraudulent award worth over $11 billion represented more than a third of Nigeria’s foreign reserves and far exceeded its combined national health, education, and security budgets.
“We brought a challenge in late 2019, three years outside the time limit, and still managed to secure an extension. That alone was historic,” she said. “Following that, we proved fraud in court and achieved a final judgment in Nigeria’s favour in October 2023.”
She emphasized that this was a legal triumph and a moral and financial win for the people of Nigeria, setting a powerful precedent against fraudulent claims and deterring future exploitation attempts.
