The Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday convicted the two suspects arraigned on allegations of fraudulent involvement in the 2010 contract between the federal government and an Irish firm, the Process and Industrial Development (P&ID).

The court consequently ordered the firm to forfeit all its assets to the Nigerian government.

The federal court gave the judgement after the suspects pleaded guilty to an 11-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The suspects were Muhammad Kuchazi, said to be a commercial director with P&ID incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and Adamu Usman, who was referred to as a director of process of the firm in Nigeria.

They were arraigned on 11-count charge, bordering on obtaining by false pretence; dealing in petroleum products without appropriate license; money laundering and failure to register P&ID with the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) as required by law, amounting to economic sabotage against the Nigerian state.

Both accused represented their firms, the court ruled.

As a result of the details recommended by the EFCC, the court convicted Usman for the offences mentioned in the 11 counts, while Kuchazi was convicted based on the offences in the first ten counts which had his name.

Deciding on the matter after the guilty plea, the judge said he had taken note of the guilty plea and the pieces of evidence tagged exhibits PW1a and PW1b.

He, therefore, convicted the accused based on the plea taken.

The EFCC lawyer, Bala Sanga, had argued that “where a corporate body is convicted of an offence, the court may order that all its assets be forfeited.”

The judge, Edward I. Ekwo, asked why the EFCC failed to file its charge pursuant to Section 54 of the Company and Allied Matters Act.

Ekwo said the punishment to be given to the convicts, who had legal representation in court, is contained in the Advance Fee Fraud Act and the Money Laundering Act.

“An order is hereby made that the assets of Process and Industrial Development Company be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria. An order is hereby made for the second convict to be rounded up and his properties and assets forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” he held.

The judge said the orders would be entered as the judgement of the court.

The pact

The anti-graft body had launched an investigation into the contract between Nigeria and P&ID after a British court had ruled that Nigeria owed the Irish firm about $9 billion for violating terms of the contract.

The contract for gas supply and processing (GSPA) was signed by the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and P&ID.

The company was to build gas processing facilities around Calabar, Cross River state, and the government was to supply wet gas up to 400 million standard cubic feet per day.

The agreement defined wet gas as “associated gas removed, during oil production, having a propane content of not less than 3.5 mol per cent and a butane content of not less than 1.8 mol content, compressed and delivered via pipeline to the site.”

In turn, the company “shall operate and maintain the GPFs (gas processing facilities) on a professional basis to ensure a regular supply of Lean Gas (approximately 340 MMSCuFD) for power generation.”

Lean gas, defined as “pipeline quality gas having a composition of not less than 95 mol per cent of methane and ethane,” was what the government was to take after supplying wet gas for processing by the company.

A three-member arbitration panel that reviewed the contract had ruled against Nigeria and ordered the government to pay the firm $6.6 billion as damages.

Also, a British court had last month ruled against Nigeria’s objection to the 2017 arbitration.

The money with interest has now accumulated to about $9 billion (approximately N3.24 trillion), and this represents over one-third of Nigeria’s 2019 budget.

The judgement was delivered by Justice Butcher of The High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales.

However, Nigeria promptly condemned the ruling and said it suspected that various officials involved in the negotiations did so for pecuniary reasons.

Malami reacts to judgement

Meanwhile, in his reaction to the judgement, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), said: “The implication of today’s conviction is that Nigeria has a judicial proof of fraud and corruption as a foundation of the relationship that gave rise to a purported liability in the arbitral award.

“A liability that is rooted in fraud and corruption cannot stand judicial enforceability Nigeria now has a cogent ground for setting aside the liability; where Nigeria is expected to review its strategy in view of unfolding developments as they relate to conviction of some of the suspects that have admitted fraud and corrupt practices in the transaction that gave rise to purported award. Nigeria is meeting with is legal consortium early next week in UK in preparation for the case listed for 26th September.”

P&ID condemns ruling

In its reaction to the ruling, the P&ID, in an unsigned statement, condemned it, describing it as “shambolic.”

It read in part: “Today’s sham trial in Nigeria is entirely illegitimate, and follows a systematic campaign of harassment, intimidation and illegal detention of a number of individuals associated with P&ID or the GSPA contract. The individuals detained have not been afforded due process and have instead been pressured and intimidated by the government into making false statements.

“None of the individuals involved are current employees or representatives of P&ID. P&ID itself has received no communication from any Nigerian authority about the investigation or today’s hearing. There has been no evidence produced, no defence allowed, no charges laid, no due process followed.”