The United Kingdom Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Nigeria in its long-running legal dispute with Process & Industrial Developments Limited, P&ID, upholding the country’s right to recover £44.2 million in legal costs in pounds sterling.
Delivering its judgment on Wednesday, October 22, a five-member panel led by Lord Reed, President of the Supreme Court, unanimously dismissed P&ID’s appeal and affirmed earlier rulings by the Commercial Court and Court of Appeal.
Both courts had previously held that since Nigeria incurred and paid its legal costs in pounds, recovery must also be made in the same currency.
The apex court ruled that “as Nigeria had incurred liability and made payments in sterling, the court ought to make a costs order in sterling.”
It dismissed P&ID’s argument that the order would give Nigeria a “windfall” given the naira’s depreciation since 2023.
ALSO READ: Supreme Court upholds five-year sentence for Farouk Lawan
In a joint judgment, Lord Hodge and Lady Simler described legal costs as “a statutory indemnity for litigation expenses, not compensation for loss.”
They warned that P&ID’s position could encourage “disproportionate and expensive satellite litigation.”
Between November 2019 and November 2024, Nigeria paid £44.2 million in legal fees across 116 invoices while contesting two arbitration awards initially worth over US$11 billion (including interest).
Those awards, later found to have been procured by fraud, were annulled in 2023 by Justice Robin Knowles of the UK Commercial Court.
The dispute traces back to a 2010 gas processing contract between Nigeria’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources and P&ID, a firm founded by Irish nationals Michael Quinn and Brendan Cahill.
The company accused Nigeria of breaching the contract, prompting arbitration in London that awarded it billions in damages—nearly a third of Nigeria’s annual budget at the time.
Following years of investigation, Nigerian authorities uncovered evidence of bribery, corruption, and document concealment, leading the UK courts to side with Nigeria.
With this latest Supreme Court ruling, P&ID has now exhausted all legal avenues. Nigeria’s Attorney-General, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, hailed the decision as “a vindication of Nigeria’s position and a reflection of the UK judiciary’s commitment to fairness.”
He praised the legal team at Arnold & Porter LLP, noting that the ruling “closes a dark chapter in Nigeria’s legal history” while reaffirming transparency and accountability in public contracting.
Prime Business
