How Nigeria paid $200m guarantee to UK Court in P&ID case

The Nigerian Government has made a bank deposit of $200m to a court in the United Kingdom.

The payment is a requirement for the stay of asset seizure it intends to obtain to stop Process and Industrial Development from seizing $9bn worth of assets from the country.

Nigeria received permission to appeal a ruling converting the award into a judgment in the UK in September 2019.

It however needed to stop the British Virgin Island registered firm from acting on the judgment while an appeal was ongoing.

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, informed journalists that it would appeal the $200m guarantee asked for by the court before the ‘stay of execution’ could be granted.

Without giving an update on the outcome of the appeal, a spokesperson for the AGF informed the British news agency on Thursday that it had paid the requested sum.

In addition, Nigeria has also engaged more lawyers for the appeal of the award judgment.

Shaistah Akhtar, a partner with London-based law firm Mishcon de Reya, will lead the legal team alongside Mark Howard QC of Brick Court Chambers, the spokesperson revealed.

The Economic and Financial Crimes commission belatedly started investigating the sham deal for a failed gas processing contract executed by Irishmen Michael Quinn and Brandon Cahill.

It has so far made three arrests

(Credit: Sahara Reporters)