The UK Court of Appeal on Tuesday upheld Nigeria’s hard-won victory in the high-profile $11 billion lawsuit filed by British Virgin Islands company Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID), capping the years-long legal battle that began in 2017.
Justice Julian Flaux tossed out an appeal filed by British lawyer Seamus Andrew, who asked the appellate court to reverse a 2023 ruling that favoured Nigeria and granted the West African nation reprieve from paying $11 billion damages sought by P&ID over a botched gas contract.
P&ID had sued the Nigerian government for alleged breach of a Gas Supply & Processing Agreement, securing a $6.6 billion arbitration award that ballooned to $11 billion with interest.
But the Nigerian authorities fiercely pushed back, challenging the decision in court with overwhelming evidence that the British company secured the contract through unscrupulous means. P&ID was accused of accessing Nigeria’s confidential records through the backdoor and using the fraudulently obtained information to fight the African nation.
Mounting evidence of bribery and corruption ultimately led Judge Robin Knowles to scrap the award in October 2023. Instead of awarding damages, the judge ordered P&ID to pay Nigeria’s legal fees in the case.
Undeterred, Mr Andrew sought to overturn the verdict and prayed the court for permission to appeal the case. But Mr Flaux said the notice of appeal for such matters ought to have been filed 21 days post-judgement, which should have been November 13, 2023, given the judgement was delivered October 23, 2023.
He said Mr Andrew had been privy to the lawsuit from the onset and ought to know to file his appeal promptly.
The judge thereafter dismissed Mr Andrew’s permission to appeal due to his tardiness, asserting his excuse of confusion about the specific date is not tenable.
“Before 13 November 2023, he could and should have sought a direction from the judge under CPR 52.12(2)(a) to extend time for service of any Appellant’s Notice,” the judge wrote in his ruling on Tuesday. “As Mr Ford submitted correctly, not knowing or being confused about the deadline for applying for permission to appeal is not a sufficient excuse for failing to comply.”
“Accordingly, I am not prepared to grant such relief from sanctions and conclude that the application for permission to appeal is out of time and should be refused on that ground alone,” stated the judge in his ruling.
The latest ruling seals Nigeria’s resounding victory on the botched contract that would have drained its foreign assets.
Reacting to his loss, Mr Andrew remained optimistic that he will still be vindicated.
“Although I am disappointed by the outcome of my appeal, I believe that I acted in accordance with my professional duties and I am confident that my position will be vindicated in due course,” the British lawyer said.
