● Says every penny spent on ligation must be recovered from economic saboteurs
A peacebuilding think tank, Foundation for Peace Professionals, also known as PeacePro, has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to prosecute all those involved in the conspiracy to defraud Nigeria by Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited.
PeacePro said that the attempt to defraud Nigeria by P&ID to the tune of $11billion was not an isolated case, as several of such cases existed, some of which might be ongoing and others concluded.
It noted that those involved in the scam were a cartel that must be exposed and severely punished.
In a statement by the Executive Director of PeacePro, Amb Abdulrazaq Hamzat over the weekend, PeacePro said that Commercial Courts of England and Wales saved Nigeria from what could literally be described as catastrophe of the greatest order and we must do everything possible to ensure the country is never put at the mercy of foreign government to address crisis of such magnitude.
According to Hamzat, after a long, tortuous legal battle, Nigeria narrowly escaped from a hefty penalty of over $11billion over a fraudulent, failed 2010 deal to develop a gas processing plant in the country.
Justice Robin Knowles of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales halted enforcement of a $11 billion Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited arbitration award against Nigeria, which had been described as scam.
According to the judge, the company’s award against Nigeria was obtained by fraud.
Hamzat explained that, Nigeria might have succeeded in upturning the fine, which is about 30% of our national budget, but that was after spending over $40 million in litigation fees and the federal government must treat all those involved as economic saboteurs.
Hamzat maintained that those involved were scattered among the senior civil and public servants, with support of some private players.
He said that President Tinubu and the national assembly must address the situation like a national emergency.
He concluded that all business deals involving the government, either concluded or currently disputed, should be reviewed to identify pattern of fraud and the respective players.
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