By: Comrade Usman Abdulkadir Taleeki
Few stories in Nigeria’s recent history demonstrate the quiet power of competent leadership as clearly as the Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) case. It was a legal battle that tested the limits of Nigeria’s institutions, exposed the dangers of elite collusion, and eventually proved that persistence and sound judgment could save a country from ruin. Yet, despite its enormous implications, many Nigerians, especially young people, remain unaware of what truly happened. The silence is not accidental. It reflects how easily important national moments are buried under the noise of politics and the distractions of social media.
The story began in 2010, when a company registered in the British Virgin Islands called Process and Industrial Developments Limited entered into a Gas Supply and Processing Agreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria. The company was supposed to build and operate a plant to process natural gas for electricity generation. In return, Nigeria would supply the gas. But the entire arrangement soon collapsed. No gas was ever supplied, and no plant was ever built. Nevertheless, P&ID accused Nigeria of breaching the agreement and took the matter before a London arbitration tribunal.
In 2017, the tribunal ruled in favor of P&ID and awarded it 6.6 billion dollars in damages. With accumulating interest, the amount grew to more than 11 billion dollars by 2023, larger than Nigeria’s entire federal budget at the time. It was an extraordinary sum, capable of destabilizing the economy and crippling the nation’s ability to fund basic governance. For years, the matter lingered in uncertainty. Many within the system quietly proposed that Nigeria should negotiate or pay a portion of the award to avoid further embarrassment.
When Abubakar Malami assumed office as Attorney General and Minister of Justice, he was confronted with this looming financial catastrophe. Rather than accept the path of quiet settlement, he ordered a comprehensive review of the contract and the arbitration process. What his team discovered was far more troubling than a simple contractual dispute. The investigation revealed a deliberate scheme, an agreement structured to fail, facilitated by corruption within Nigeria and aided by collaborators abroad. It became clear that P&ID’s claim was not an innocent commercial grievance but a calculated attempt to defraud the Nigerian state.
Armed with this evidence, Nigeria sought to reopen the case in the United Kingdom. Malami’s office coordinated an extensive legal and investigative effort that involved British law enforcement agencies, forensic experts, and international lawyers. Thousands of documents were submitted to the court, and the evidence painted a vivid picture of deceit and manipulation. Nigeria argued that the original arbitration award had been obtained through fraud and that enforcing it would amount to rewarding criminal conduct.
In October 2023, the United Kingdom High Court of Justice delivered a landmark judgment in Nigeria’s favor. The court set aside the entire 11-billion-dollar award and condemned P&ID’s actions as fraudulent and deceitful. It was one of the most significant legal victories in Nigeria’s history. Had the case gone the other way, the consequences would have been disastrous. The country could have faced economic paralysis, mass capital flight, further currency depreciation, and the diversion of critical public funds into debt payments. Instead, the judgment gave Nigeria financial breathing space and restored a measure of national dignity in international arbitration.
By the time this decision was announced, Abubakar Malami was no longer in office. But the foundation of the victory, the investigation, the legal strategy, the coordination with foreign agencies, and the documentation that exposed the fraud, was all laid during his tenure. His leadership of the legal process was not about rhetoric or politics. It was a demonstration of methodical reasoning, courage, and institutional discipline at a time when national apathy would have been the easier choice.
Yet, despite the magnitude of the achievement, the national response was muted. There were no public commendations, no special recognitions, and little media attention. This silence reveals much about the country’s political culture. We celebrate noise more than substance and politics more than policy. The P&ID case should have been a national case study in vigilance, legal diplomacy, and statecraft. Instead, it became another forgotten headline, lost amid social media disputes and partisan quarrels.
The victory was not only about saving billions of dollars. It was about asserting Nigeria’s right to fairness in a global system often tilted against weaker nations. It showed that with determination and intellectual rigor, a developing country could stand up to complex transnational fraud and win. It also underscored an important lesson about governance, that real leadership sometimes takes place far from the public stage, in rooms where decisions are made that shape the destiny of millions.
Abubakar Malami, like every public official, has been the subject of scrutiny and criticism. That is part of public life. But judgment should be based on facts, not on hearsay or partisan narratives. In the matter of P&ID, the facts are clear. His resolve to challenge a fraudulent process saved Nigeria from one of the largest financial threats in its history. That record deserves objective acknowledgment, not silence.
The P&ID episode should be remembered not merely as a court victory but as a lesson in how nations defend themselves. It should remind young Nigerians that governance is not built on slogans or trending topics, but on knowledge, patience, and the courage to do what is right when the cost of failure is unbearable. Those who understand how close Nigeria came to losing 11 billion dollars will recognize that this was not just a legal triumph but an act of national preservation.
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