“But the court ruled that they must pay £20 million to Nigeria, which must come in 28 days. Then came the request for appeal. Their request for an appeal on the currency at which they were going to pay Nigeria was also denied. So, in 28 days, P&ID must pay Nigeria at least 20 million pounds,” it stated.

A judgment had initially been secured by Process & Industry Development (P&ID) Ltd, in relation to an unsuccessful 2010 agreement to construct a gas processing facility in the southern region of Nigeria.

On January 31, 2017, a private arbitration tribunal directed Nigeria to make a substantial payment of $6.6 billion to P&ID, in addition to accrued interest dating back to March 20, 2013. Given the fixed interest rate of seven per cent, equating to $1 million per day, the potential payment had ballooned to over $11 billion.

Nigeria lodged an appeal against the enforcement of the arbitration award, and in September 2020, the UK commercial court granted Nigeria the requested relief, thereby sending the case back to the high court for further proceedings.

Judge Robin Knowles of the Business and Property Court in London, which conducted its proceedings remotely and in private, determined that the awards had been obtained through fraudulent means and that the events in the case were against public policy.

After Nigeria’s historic triumph in October, P&ID sought to revive their claims through new arbitration. However, the High Court in London decreed that the arbitration could only advance if the 2023 judgment remained enforceable.