British firm, the Process and Industrial Developments, bribed government officials to secure its 20-year gas supply purchasing agreement, Nigeria’s legal representative, Mark Howard, has told a UK court.

Howard told the magistrate, Ross Cranston, that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has discovered payments to people involved in the project and their family members including Vera Taiga, whose mother, Grace Taiga, was a director in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources at the time the deal was sealed.

Howard said one payment of $4,969.50 was made on December 30, 2009, and another $5,000 was paid to her on January 31, 2012, adding that P&ID claimed those payments were for health expenses.



“If Grace Taiga was in financial strain and she asked for the money from P&ID at this critical point and P&ID paid her in secret at precisely the time the GSPA was being put forward. That, in anybody’s language, is a bribe,” he explained during a virtual court hearing monitored by TheCable.

“The nature of a bribe is not affected by what the bribee intends to spend the money on, the point is it is corrupt and improper to make payments to a government official when you are in the process of negotiating a contract with the government.”

The lawyer said Taiga seemed to have a pattern of receiving money from companies seeking government contract as she also received money from two companies bidding for gas infrastructure projects.

Grace Taiga is awaiting trial to determine her role in the case.

In response to P&ID’s argument that Nigeria missed the 28-day appeal deadline, Howard said Nigeria only uncovered information about the deal in late 2019.

“Any legal team had to make a judgement call about whether there was enough evidence to argue it was a case of fraud,” he said.

Howard also told the court about how Taofiq Tijani, who chaired the government technical committee that reviewed the gas plant contract, had admitted to receiving $50,000 in cash from Neil Hitchcock, a deceased P&ID project director.

“The first payment was cash, the rest were through the banking system. The question is what was the essence of these payments? Mr Tijani said he had significant pressure to put the project through,” he told the judge.



“The payments we are referring to is a cash payment to Mr Tijani. These were disguised payments to cover up their tracks. October 19, £30,000, April 14, naira equivalent of €15,000 and same date €26,400 pounds and €13,317. These are all payments in connection with the project, which is described on page 34.

https://punchng.com/pid-bribed-govt-officials-to-secure-contract-fg-tells-uk-court/

Are they still on this case

I hope the government wins this case and if established that it was a prearranged fraud then those involved should be prosecuted.

Can we just copy the North Korea and China template of dealing with corrupt officials?

Nice one from the government.

That the company did not dispute making payments to a government official is a nail in their coffin.

What they cannot do in their country they would come to Nigeria to do.

Why will the company pay the alleged bribe? Anyway the administrative corruption in Nigeria is a factor before securing real or fraudulent contracts.Too bad.

This is a case Magu's EFCC should have long investigate, isolate & punish whosoever is involved in costing this nation the PI & D economic burden but he faltered.Well, let see how this case will go.

Racoon:
Why will the company pay the alleged bribe? Anyway the administrative corruption in Nigeria is a factor before securing real or fraudulent contracts.Too bad.

This is a case Magu's EFCC should have long investigate, isolate & punish whosoever is involved in costing this nation the PI & D economic burden but he faltered.Well, let see how this case will go.

There's high probability that those involved are still much around the corridors of power and may be the reason it wasn't investigated.

Racoon:
Why will the company pay the alleged bribe? Anyway the administrative corruption in Nigeria is a factor before securing real or fraudulent contracts.Too bad.

This is a case Magu's EFCC should have long investigate, isolate & punish whosoever is involved in costing this nation the PI & D economic burden but he faltered.Well, let see how this case will go.

Nigeria System. Dirty from top to bottom.

TheFreeOne:
There's high probability that those involved are still much around the corridors of power and may be the reason it wasn't investigated.

Muhammed Sanusi Bakindo(GMD NNPC: 2009 - 2010 & former OPEC sec) is the minister of petroleum when the the deal was signed is also a member of the cabal

Racoon:

Muhammed Sanusi Bakindo(GMD NNPC: 2009 - 2010 & former OPEC sec) is the minister of petroleum when the the deal was signed is also a member of the cabal

Nigeria is only being run by a click