Grace Taiga a Key Witness in $11Bn P&ID Corruption Scandal Dies, Many Politicians Set To Walk Free
- Grace Taiga, at the Centre of a $11 billion P&ID corruption scandal is reported to have passed away
- Her death comes amid ongoing investigation to uncover those behind the P&ID deal in 2010
- Taiga is a key witness, and her death could mean that many others involved would escape punishment
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Grace Taiga, the former Director of Legal Services of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources who is a key witness in a massive corruption scandal involving the British Virgin Islands-based company Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID), died in September 2023 at the age of 75.
The news of her death comes few days after a UK court ruled in favour of Nigeria on the deal that was signed in 2010.
Source: Twitter
BusinessDay reports that Taiga served under the petroleum ministry from 2004 to 2010 and was was key in negotiating a gas supply and processing agreement (GSPA) between P&ID and the Nigerian government.
The deal granted P&ID exclusive rights to build and operate a gas processing plant in Nigeria.
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Nigerian government, P&ID fell apart
In 2012, P&ID initiated an international arbitration claim against Nigeria, stating that the federal government had violated the Gas Supply and Processing Agreement (GSPA) by not providing the required infrastructure for the gas processing plant.
The company won an the arbitration tribunal awarded $9.6 billion in damages against Nigeria which later increased to $11.4 billion with interest.
On Taiga part she faced legal fights as well; in 2019, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested her on charges of money laundering and fraud.
Although she was granted bail, she was in the midst of a trial at the time of her passing.
Why is Taiga's death important
Report has that Taiga’s death is a significant development in the P&ID scandal because she was one of the few people with firsthand knowledge of the negotiations that led to the GSPA and the arbitration proceedings that followed.
Her death now makes it more difficult to prosecute those involved in the bribery scheme.
Taiga is also a key witness in the EFCC’s case against several other Nigerian officials. Without her testimony, it will be more difficult to prove that P&ID bribed them.
Otedola strikes billion naira deal with Elumelu to exit Transcorp
Meanwhile, in another report, Legit.ng reported that Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola ended the battle with Elumelu over control of Transcorp Plc.
Transcorp is a diversified conglomerate interested in energy, hospitality, and agriculture.
The mutual agreement saw Otedola receive a payout of N32.5 billion two weeks after spending N6 billion to acquire 2.6bn shares.
Source: Legit.ng
