A United Kingdom Commercial Court has ordered the release of the $200m guarantee put in place as security in respect of the execution of the much-discredited Process and Industrial Development $10bn gas contract claim.
The court also awarded the sum of £70,000 cost in favour of Nigeria in addition to an earlier award of £1.5m.
A tribunal had held Nigeria liable for the alleged breach of a gas supply processing agreement it entered into with a private firm, Process and Industrial Development in 2010.
Justice Ross Cranston had in a landmark judgment, on September 4, granted the Federal Government permission to challenge the final arbitral award delivered by a London arbitration tribunal in favour of P&ID and against Nigeria in January 2017.
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The judge, in the judgment heard that there was prima facie case of fraud in the agreements leading to the award which should be inquired into.
But the Nigerian government had approached the UK court requesting an extension of time within which to challenge the final arbitral award on the basis that the GSPA and the award were tainted by fraud.
Edited by Sola Jaiyesimi
