The African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), has called on Nigeria government as well as the United Kingdom to expose and prosecute individuals behind the Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) gas project scandal.

They recalled the Monday judgement by a London Court which stopped the enforcement of $11billion arbitration award in favour of P&ID against Nigeria following the discovery by the Judge Robin Knowles that the massive arbitration was tainted by fraud and that the way the award was procured was contrary to public policy.

While commending the ability of Nigeria to establish a strong prime facie case that the 2010 gas project was procured by bribes paid to insiders as part of larger plans to defraud Nigeria, ANEEJ noted the call out of some Nigerian officials for their greed and unpatriotic act that could have cost the country $11billion in damages, which is about one third of the 2024 budget.

The Executive Director, ANEEJ, Revd David Ugolor, during a press conference yesterday in Abuja, stated that the outcome of the case was a blessing for poor Nigerians that are currently suffering from grand corruption carried out by Nigerian elites and their foreign collaborators over the years.

He Commended the UK court for blocking the stealing of poor people’s resources as well as the tenacity by the Mohammadu Buhari’s administration to refuse to accept the dubious out of court settlement initiated by the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

Ugolor maintained that the exposure and prosecution of officials involved in the grand corruption would serve as deterrent and also, end the culture of impunity in business transaction in Nigeria. He called on the UK and Nigeria government to blacklist and place on indefinite ban, companies and individuals involved in the scandalous business transaction.

He also called on the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to set up panel of enquiry to unpack what happened in the P&ID case so as to draw lessons for future engagement, adding that for transparency and accountability purposes, Nigeria government must publish the total amount spent on execution of the cases.

The ANEEJ ED noted that while countries like UK, US and Switzerland are using their court process to bring multinational companies who collaborate with their Nigeria counterpart to justice, on the other hand those individuals have continued to participate in politics in Nigeria without being sanctioned.

He said, “If we don’t raise our voices, nothing will happen to those involved in the P&ID scam and that will send a wrong signal, encourage impunity as people will feel that they get away with wrong doings.
We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for justice for Nigerians, and ensure these people are brought to justice. We must fish out the individuals that are destroying Nigeria in collaboration with foreigners”, he stated.