By John Austin Unachukwu
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has stated that the Federal Government is preparing a National Arbitration Policy to enable the country host major arbitral proceedings which hitherto were domesticated abroad.
Malami speaking on this in Abuja last week, said: “It is our intention to look at the existing legislations, with the possibility of enhancing them for the purpose of establishing the national interest as the major enabler of, perhaps, amendment to the existing legislations if the need for doing so arises.
“We are not ruling out the possibility of bringing about Executive Orders to complement same if the need arises. So, indeed we are looking at the possibility of having in place effective legal framework, national policy and associated legislations that will assist the process.”
He said arising from the evolution of arbitrations, as per the Nigerian state is concerned, the government has established very efficient and reputable centres of arbitrations in Lagos and Abuja.
He said establishment of such centres was a step in the right direction, maintaining government resolve to localise what is supposed to be localised as far as the development of arbitration is concerned within the Nigerian state.
The successes recorded at the on-going P&ID arbitration case in the United Kingdom were a product of collective institutional collaboration and not attributable to a single individual.
“In addition to Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Federal Ministry of Justice, Nigeria Police, Ministries of Information and Foreign Affairs, Central Bank of Nigeria and other related agencies played an extra-ordinarily vital role in the processes and developments that culminated into this landmark victory for the county.
“With the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government, the era of impunity and compromised that were embedded into the government system was over and the new culture of uncompromising stance for the public interest has come to stay.
The minister who described the successes recorded by the Nigerian government in the recent UK court judgment on P&ID issue as unprecedented, said investigations are ongoing and all those who played roles in the sham called contract will be made to face the wrath of the law.
“The Federal Government was working assiduously to come out with National Arbitration Policy.
“It is our intention to look at the existing legislations, possibility of enhancing them for the purpose of establishing the national interest as the major enabler of, perhaps, amendment to the existing legislations if the need for doing so arises.
“We are not ruling out the possibility of bringing about Executive Orders to complement same if the need arises. So, indeed we are looking at the possibility of having in place effective legal framework, national policy and associated legislations that will assist the process,” Malami said.
He said arising from the evolution of arbitrations, as far as the Nigerian state is concerned, the government has established very efficient and reputable centres of arbitrations in Lagos and Abuja.
He said establishment of such centres is a step in the right direction maintaining government resolve to localise what is supposed to be localised as per as the development of arbitration is concerned within the Nigerian state.
Speaking on the Judgment, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and civil society activist, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) stated that the administration of President Buhari deserves full marks for a well fought legal battle, at least to this stage to persuade the English Judge , that even though Nigeria was well out of time to challenge the award, that on the basis of massive fraud in which the conduct of Nigeria’s, counsel at Abitration, was in issue, Nigeria successfully persuaded the Judge that English public policy would oppose the unwitting use of the English courts as an engine of fraud , merely because Nigeria failed to challenge the award in good time.
“The English Judge had no difficulty to declare that as a result of fraud by Process and Industrial, that Nigeria will be allowed time to prove it. This sets the path for a potential overturn of the fraudulent award in the English courts. As I salute Abubakar Malami SAN, learned Attorney – General of the Federation, I will invite him to consider the emplacement of a National Abitration policy and a transformational review of the legal framework relating to Arbitration, so that in cases, such as this, where all the connecting factors are Nigerian, there will be no question of reference to foreign Arbitration” Agbakoba stated.
In his response to a question on a television programme, Sunrise Daily at Channels Television. Former Minister of Defence, Mr. Adetokunbo Kayode advocated for the domestication of the arbitration process in Nigeria due to the cost involved in doing it overseas
He said:“We must re -orientate ourselves about the understanding of arbitration and the implication, we seek to domesticate it because most of the government-related arbitration are done either in Paris or in London or somewhere else’’
He mentioned some of the challenges of doing arbitration outside the country to include financial cost and difficulty in obtaining visa among others. He, therefore, advised that arbitration should rather be carried out in Nigeria
“It costs money, you need to get a visa for instance to go to London. What if you couldn’t get it? And it costs money to move up and down. Why not do it in Abuja or do it Lagos which will be easier for us.
“And I do not think based on the doctrine of party equality, if you are really the key person like in P&ID case, there is no reason why this Arbitration should not have been in Abuja.
“But if we continue to put it in London then you know that it costs money to go there. And sometimes you don’t get visa as I said. If you don’t get money then you don’t move on with the case.
“But there is a reprieve because now we are doing virtual arbitration so you could actually sit down here and do your arbitration online whether the arbitration is based in London” Kayode stated
