6th September, 2020
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has revealed how $301 million were used in bribing Nigerian government officials in the $10 billion judgment earlier awarded to Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) against Nigeria.
But the Federal Government on Friday secured a landmark victory in its pursuit to overturn a 10 billion dollar judgment awarded against it.
The court court granted Nigeria’s application for an extension of time and relief from sanctions due to the exceptional circumstances where the government has uncovered evidence of massive fraud in procuring the award.
However, Malami, while speaking on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics said as much he would not want to be pre-emptive, the fact still remained that at the local level, some of the principal characters were being investigated, and that some were not only investigated but were arraigned with certain convictions recorded.
He said within the official cycles of government, some of the principal actors had retired, and that they were being alleged to have been involved in under-hand dealing as it related to within the region of $301 million.
According to Malami, the investigation had re-affirmed the fact that there were certain under-hand dealings to the tune of $301 million.
He added that there were arraignments, “there were convictions and indeed, monies were established to change hands as a basis for inducement that eventually resulted into compromises on processes, compromises on the procedure and then, failure on the part of the officials of government to do the needful in terms of ensuring that the interest of the nation is protected.”
Malami explained that the due diligence relating to P&ID was not adequately undertaken as at the time of signing the agreement, but that arising from the investigation, government had taken time to conduct and expand its investigative capacity to other jurisdiction, inclusive of the US and that there was nothing establishing greater financial strength capacity on the part of P&ID right from the onset either in Nigeria and the Virgin Island.