For the new arbitration job, Kyari directed the immediate payment of $450,000, being the initial sum of the professional fees to Shasore while the remaining sum was to be paid subsequently.
Despite undermining and sabotaging Nigeria’s effort over the $9.6bn arbitration battle against Process & Industrial Development Ltd, a British Virgin Island engineering firm, former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, Mr Olasupo Shasore, got himself another legal contract from the Nigerian Government.
Recall that SaharaReporters had in July 2020 revealed how Shasore got $2m from P&ID for his involvement in the first and second stages of the arbitration.
The payments were made in a bid to purchase the silence of Adelore and Oguine in relation to Shasore’s conduct of the arbitration.
Shasore was forced to resign his position from the Justice Reform Project following the report by SaharaReporters.
New revelation by an online news platform, PremiumTimes, has shown that Shasore also got another $2m arbitration deal on behalf of the government in 2019.
He got the job from the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government two years after he defaulted on releasing necessary materials to Mr Bolaji Ayorinde, the senior lawyer, who replaced him in the P&ID case.
“Approved: the contract award to Olasupo Shasore (SAN) of Africa Law Practice and the appointment of Mr Michael Tselensi, QC, as the FGN’s counsel and arbitrator respectively for the defence of the Federal Government in an Arbitration Case No. 23211 /TO, instituted at the International Court of Arbitration in Paris by Sunrise Power Transmission Company Ltd against the Federal Government and Sinohydro Corporation Ltd,” an approval letter signed by the late Chief of Staff to Buhari, Abba Kyari, read.
The letter of approval dated July 12, 2019, was sent to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.
It was not immediately clear why this was the case, PremiumTimes reported.[story_link align="left"]84672[/story_link]
For the new arbitration job, Kyari directed the immediate payment of $450,000, being the initial sum of the professional fees to Shasore while the remaining sum was to be paid subsequently.
Also, he directed the Solicitor-General of the Federation to prepare a legal opinion on disciplinary options for the actions of the then minister, which contravened Council’s directives by issuing a contract offer letter to Sunrise Power.
On January 31, 2017, a tribunal had ruled that Nigeria should pay P&ID $6.6bn as damages as well as pre and post-judgment interest at seven per cent.
The current outstanding amount is estimated at $10bn.
[story_link align="left"]84659[/story_link]However, in a latest ruling on the P&ID case, a court in London, United Kingdom, has given Nigeria the go ahead to appeal a $9.6bn judgment debt against Process and Industrial Developments.
The fine was earlier slammed on the Nigerian Government by a court in London as compensation for P&ID over a failed deal on gas supply.