The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Wednesday applauded the country’s legal team for winning the protracted court case over Process & Industrial Development Limited in London, United Kingdom.
Obi also commended the UK for what he termed the country’s respect for the rule of law.
A UK Judge Robin Knowles of the Business and Property Court in London had awarded victory to the Nigerian Government over the P&ID.
Following Judge Knowles’ dismissal of the $11.5bn value of the award plus accumulated interest previously won by P&ID over a failed 2010 deal to build a gas processing plant on the grounds that the award was obtained by fraud, Obi tweeted via his official X account to congratulate Nigeria.
He said, ‘I congratulate our dear nation, Nigeria, especially the legal team that handled the major judiciary victory recorded at the United Kingdom Court on Monday in the case against Process & Industrial Developments Limited.
‘Thankfully, the case was decided in the United Kingdom, a nation known for its respect for the rule of law and where the judiciary delivers justice freely and fairly to the people. This, therefore, offers veritable lessons to Nigerians in general, and our judiciary in particular.”
The LP standard bearer noted that ‘Every lawful society is built on a strong system of justice and every democratic society exists on the principle of the rule of law. In handling the identity crisis, electoral disputes, and many high corruption cases that have bedeviled our nation, the judiciary has a bounding duty to protect our dear nation’s value system.
‘Nigeria won its bid to overturn an $11 billion damages bill involving the controversial P&ID deal, yet similar, or even greater amounts, have gone unaccounted for in Nigeria, and the culprits are freely walking the streets.”
Obi also urged Nigerian public officeholders to understand that “we have no other nation but Nigeria and we all, are bound to work together for the development of our nation.”
