The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, says The Federal Government of Nigeria has learnt some lessons with the imbroglio over the Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) contract.

He spoke on Thursday during the African Arbitration Day virtual conference organized by British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL), Babcook University and the School of International Arbitration at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).

In October 2019, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned British nationals, James Nolan and Adam Quinn (at large), over their alleged complicity in a $9.6billion judgment against Nigeria.

P&ID secured the award against Nigeria following the non-execution of a 20-year gas and supply processing agreement (GSPA) the company had with the federal government.

Last month, the Buhari administration slammed fresh charges against them and others.

In his speech, Malami stated that the whole saga was a product of corruption, fraud and non-compliance with stipulated procedures.

He said processes required from the agencies, associated approvals and permits were not obtained.

The AGF noted that Federal Executive Council approval was never sought for the signed contract.

“The greatest lesson arising from this is to put our house in order by way of ensuring that we have in place standard operating procedures relating to every agreement that has the potential of affecting our national interest and ensure that the stated standard operating procedures are followed.

“It is the component of tightening our situation within the context of compliances to procedures and ensuring that there are consequences for wrongdoings associated with officers that are found wanting or perhaps compromising along the line,” he said.

Malami disclosed that the government was working towards making Nigeria an arbitral proceedings hub rather than working towards a direction of submitting to other jurisdictions.

The minister added that Nigeria has two arbitration centres in Abuja and Lagos that provide quality services.