A UK Court has ordered Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited to pay Nigeria £20 million as damages and compensation following Nigeria’s victory in an $11 billion judgment debt which was heard in October.
The court directed the sum to be paid to Nigeria in the next 28 days.
The award of the £20 million as damages was disclosed during a consequential ruling on the matter in London, to find out what next after the October ruling.
Reports say the hearing was also to determine if P&ID would be permitted to appeal the case.
However, the Court refused to permit P&ID to return the matter to arbitration.
It argued that the company’s conduct during the process was reprehensible hence the judgment.
Nigeria sought at least £20 million back from P&ID to cover its damages and legal fees.
In October, Nigeria received great relief as the UK court set the country from its entanglement in the $11bn judgment debt previously awarded in favour of P&ID Limited.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Robin Knowles of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales, in the case between the Federal Government of Nigeria and P&ID, the court had upheld Nigeria’s prayer that the gas processing contract was obtained by fraud.
In the judgment delivered after five years of legal battle, Judge Knowles had said: “In the circumstances and the reasons I have sought to describe and explain, Nigeria succeeds on its challenge under section 68. I have not accepted all of Nigeria’s allegations. But the awards were obtained by fraud and the awards were and the way in which they were procured was contrary to public policy.
Recall that P&ID had agreed with Nigeria in 2010 to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State, soith of the country, but the company said the deal collapsed because the Nigerian government did not fulfil its end of the bargain.