Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Federal Government has disclosed plans to prosecute everyone linked with the contract that resulted in the judgment of the United Kingdom, Business & Property Courts (the Commercial Court) which awarded a cumulative sum of $9bn against Nigeria and in favour of a private firm, Process & Industrial Developments Limited.
This was disclosed on Thursday by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami.
Malami, who frowned at the contract transaction argued that it formed part of the inglorious legacies of past administrations, which this government is being made to grapple with.
Speaking on his agenda for the ministry, the AGF said henceforth, contract of certain categories would be vetted by the Federal Ministry of Justice before it is signed by any Federal government agency.
He therefore vowed to prosecute financial institutions, linked with financial crimes along with the culprits.
He said: “Sadly, in spite of the spirited and concerted efforts of the current administration to combat corrupt practices and rent-seeking in all its forms, Nigerians woke up on Friday 16th August, 2019 to the rudest consequences of the underhand dealings of the past administration that has resulted in the award of $9billion against the Federal Republic of Nigeria by a British court, which ruled that Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) had the right to seize $9billion in Nigerian assets.
“It may interest you to know that the dispute that led to the arbitration between the FGN and P&ID, which consequently resulted in the said court ruling arose from a twenty (20) year Gas Supply Processing Agreement: (GSPA) purportedly entered with P&ID by the past administration in 2010, which contract the P&ID never performed as agreed.
“That being said, it must be placed on record that the Federal government strongly views with serious concerns the underhand manners by which the negotiation, signing and formation of the contract was carried out by some vested interests in the past administration in connivance with their local and international conspirators all in a bid to inflict grave economic adversity on the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the good people of Nigeria.
“As a government that has the mandate of the people and their interests at heart, we shall not fold our arms and allow this injustice to go unpunished as all efforts, actions and steps shall be taken to bring to book all private individuals, corporate entities and government officials home or abroad and past or present that played direct and indirect roles in the conception, negotiation, signing formation as well as prosecution of the purported agreement,” Malami said.
The AGF blamed the current increasing hostile political environment and other challenges in the country on the long years of the failure of the judicial system and the lawless acts of the corrupt and unpatriotic few, who always derive pleasure in seeing the nation falters,
He expressed his commitment to upholding the rule of law and promised to champion a robust reform of the nation’s justice system to make it function effectively in aid of the administration’s policies targeted at building a great and prosperous nation.
Malami said: “We have done much, but the reality is that there is a lot more to be done especially at this crucial time in the annals of our country when the soul of Nigeria is currently being threatened by an emerging class of mutinous elements at a time that our nation needs cohesion like never before. Nigeria is today bedeviled with an existential crisis of nationhood that is threatening to tear the country apart, with needless calls for separation, dismemberment and ill-motivated restructuring.
“However, a deep reflection and interrogation of the system and issues ‘n my vantage position as Attorney General of the Federation clearly reveal that a critical part of the problem arose from the long years of failure of our justice system, which has consequently created a very vulnerable political environment.
“We all know that any society where laws are observed in breach than in observance, such a society will automatically degenerate to Hobbesian state of nature when life was brutish, whimsical and short a state to which no Nigerian should pray we return as a country.
“We therefore cannot afford to fail on account of the lawless acts of the corrupt and unpatriotic few who always derive pleasure in seeing us fail as a nation. The law must work; it must speak its firm language of justice at all times, no matter whose ox is gored. It is beyond doubt that the law is the secret that binds societies together.
“As a social engineer and reformer, I am determined as ever before to use law as a means to shape society, regulate people’s behaviours and balance the competing interests in the Nigerian society because the ‘defence of the corporate interest of the Federal Republic Nigeria. And the rights of her citizens, are my primary goal as Chief Law Officer,” he said.
The AGF a ssured that under his watch, the Federal Ministry of Justice shall devote its efforts at developing measures to help reverse “this dysfunctional system” by rigorously pursuing judicial reforms targeted at achieving some identified objectives.
They include:
*To protect the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, wellbeing and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by defending the Nigerian constitution in such a manner that will guarantee the unity and indivisibility. of the Nigerian State;
*To promote and remain steadfast to the policy thrusts of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration by contributing our own quotas to improving security, fighting corruption and fixing the economy for the greater benefit of all Nigerians;
*To use the instrumentality of our legal system to improve accountability in public financial management with a view to ensuring that the government and its officials as well as private individuals and corporate entities are accountable to the Nigerian people under the law;
*To apply laws in such a manner that abuse of power by private individuals, corporate entities and national authorities are checked in a way that the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the citizens are protected without any form of discrimination;
*To ensure the processes of enactment, administration and enforcement of the law are open, accessible, just, equitable and efficient.