By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has recovered the sum of $200 million and another $10 million award it deposited as a bond in a UK court towards its defence of the $11 billion arbitrary award to Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Limited.

This was disclosed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) during a visit by a team of lawyers who defended the country in the UK to the Ministry led by Ms Shaistah Akhtar.

He commended the efforts of Ms Akhtar and a former Director of Legal in the ministry, Mr Kofo Salam-Alada, in the legal victory and recovery of funds to the federal government.

“The whole country has celebrated our success in the Process & Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID) case and applauded my resilience and determination not to negotiate or settle with the fraudsters but many do not know that my strength was derived from dedicated and uprightness of the FGN-P&ID coordinating team which was led by Kofo Salam-Alada who gave me the necessary support.”

Mr Fagbemi also wished Ms Salam-Alada happy retirement from the service, saying “So, it is personally disheartening for me to bid Kofo farewell from the public service career, but I have taken solace in the fact that a golden fish has no hiding place and it therefore certain that the country will continue to beckon on him for the benefit of all Nigerians.”

On her part, Ms Akthar, who was accompanied by Ms Lydia Allaby, explained that the $10 million paid was to Nigeria from the $20 million awarded in favour of Nigeria after P&ID lost the case.

She, however, added that the outstanding $10m is a subject of legal challenge by the firm.

She noted that the Nigerian case was among the only 14 per cent of successful challenges against arbitral award cases.

A Court of Appeal in the UK had dismissed the appeal of P&ID, on a previous judgment halting the enforcement of its $11 billion award against Nigeria.

In a unanimous decision, Lord Justice Snowden, the lead judge, permitted P&ID to appeal the judgment but dismissed the appeal.

The two other judges are Lord Justice Fraser and Julian Flaux.

P&ID had entered into a deal in 2010 to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State but the company said the agreement collapsed because the Nigerian government did not fulfil its end of the bargain.

The Nigerian government alleged that the gas deal was a scam conceived to defraud the country.

But P&ID denied the allegation and accused the Nigerian government of “false allegations and wild conspiracy theories”.

Consequently, P&ID took legal recourse and secured an arbitral award against the country.

On January 31, 2017, a tribunal ruled that Nigeria should pay P&ID $6.6 billion as damages, as well as pre and post-judgment interest at seven per cent, which later amounted to $11 billion.

In October 2023, Robin Knowles, justice of the commercial courts of England and Wales, halted the enforcement of the award by upholding Nigeria’s prayer that it was obtained by fraud and in violation of section 68 of the English Arbitration Act 1996.

The judge found that P&ID paid bribes to Nigerian officials involved in the drafting of the gas supply and processing agreement, GSPA, in 2010.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted a shipment of prohibited pharmaceuticals and other contraband goods with an estimated duty paid value (DPV) of N3.2 billion.

The illegal shipment, smuggled into the country through the Lagos Port Complex, was uncovered following intensified enforcement operations. Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the seizures.

Speaking with newsmen in Lagos on Thursday, Customs Area Comptroller, Mr Babatunde Olomu, said the seizures were a result of joint efforts by the NCS and other national and international security agencies.

“This command is not sacrificing compliance on the altar of trade facilitation. On my watch and with the inspiring guidance of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi who was in the command two weeks ago to showcase 12 containers of seized pharmaceuticals.

“Consequently, as a result of our painstaking efforts, we recently uncovered six more containers laden with prohibited items, mostly unregistered pharmaceuticals. Other items in the seized containers are cosmetics, used clothing, and two vehicles illegally imported into the country. These seizures are worth a total DPV of N3.2 billion.

“While we facilitate trade, collect revenue for government, the NCS owes the Nigerian people the duty of protecting them from dangerous imports that are injurious to their health and well-being,” Mr Olomu said.

“As officers at the nation’s largest, busiest, and premier port, we are determined to avoid making Nigerians vulnerable to the selfish interests of merchants of death whose stock in trade is to bring in harmful substances like the ones I shall be showing you today.

“In addition to contravening the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, these imported containers with prohibited medical items also violate the World Customs Organization’s Operation Stop IV—an international enforcement effort against counterfeit, substandard, and unauthorized medical supplies,” he added.

On arrests made so far, Mr Olomu disclosed that, “Three suspects have been arrested in connection with these seizures and are at various stages of interrogation to face the full wrath of the law.

“These two seizures alone have a street value of N2.7 billion,” he said.

“Interestingly, these containers were intercepted as a result of international collaboration as well as local networking with officers and men of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).”

According to Comptroller Olomu, the seizures fall into three main categories: namely A 40-foot container (No. SUDU 8685733) was found to contain 1,698 cartons of RTPL CSC cough syrup with codeine, concealed in 202 packages of water closets.

Another 40-foot container (No. MRSU 4846204) contained 1,690 cartons of codeine syrup, also hidden inside toilet seats.

He disclosed that other intercepted consignments include:

Container Number ONEU 1153150 (40FT) carrying 1,584 packages of Globatin anti-marks and 30g Clobetasol cream, falsely declared as truck tyres.

Container Number MRSU 3258823 (40FT), which held unregistered drugs including Rabeprazole for injection, Zahifranil tablets (25mg), Vancomycin hydrochloride (1000mg), and Ciprophetadine with Vitamin B complex—falsely declared as kitchenware and tables.

Container Number MRKU 0904594 (40FT), which concealed two stolen vehicles from Canada: a 2024 Lexus RX 450 (Chassis No. JTJCJNGA6R2017707) and a 2023 Lexus RX 350 (Chassis No. 2T2BAMCAPCO32741), falsely declared as food items.

Container Number SEKU 4716830 (40FT), which contained 390 bales of used clothing, in violation of the country’s import prohibition laws.

Giving other related activities, he said the command had crossed the N1 trillion revenue mark before the end of May. “We have so far generated a total of N1.094 trillion as of 21 May 2025,” he said.

“This collection confirms our trajectory and laudable antecedent of meeting and surpassing our target. Like we’ve done before, we are ready to do better this year,” he added.

He also highlighted notable revenue milestones: “For instance, in October 2024, we collected N18.2 billion; on March 14, 2025, we recorded a feat of N18.9 billion; and on 20 May, 2025, we made another record-breaking collection of N18.919 billion. All these were groundbreaking daily collections.”

Mr Olomu issued a strong warning Saying: “Apapa Port will remain a no-go area for any unlawful activity, and our officers are very much ready to uncover concealments and effect seizures or arrests where necessary.”

Also speaking, Assistant Comptroller General of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in charge of Narcotics, Mr Buba Uwadiawakawa, attributed the success to joint intelligence-sharing efforts.

“The interception of the huge volumes of unregistered pharmaceuticals was made possible through the collaborative efforts of local and international security partners.” he said.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Terrahaptix, a Nigerian autonomous systems startup, has been awarded a five-year contract to deploy AI-powered drones and sentry towers at two hydroelectric power plants in Nigeria.

The Nigerian firm beat an Israeli company to secure the $1.2 million security contract awarded by a private security firm, Nethawk Solutions.

According to reports, the $1.2 million will cover hardware purchases, including 10 drones and several solar-powered Sentry Towers, all integrated with Artemis OS, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and classify threats.

The contract also includes a recurring six-figure annual software subscription fee, securing a stable recurring revenue for the Nigerian hardware firm.

Terrahaptix, founded by Mr Nathan Nwachukwu and Maxwell Maduka, will be securing the hydroelectric power plants against bandits who have been using the plant as a hideout.

This comes at a crucial time when Nigeria’s infrastructure come under a lot of attacks including transmission lines, oil pipelines, and telecommunication structures.

Speaking on the development, Mr Nwachukwu, CEO of Terrahaptix, said, “This is our largest contract to date and our first in the hydroelectric sector.”

He also said the Artemis OS is capable of detecting threats like bandits in their numbers and even their level of ammunition and alert the necessary authorities.

The Artemis OS has been Terrahaptix’s competitive advantage in winning security contracts. According to Nwanchuku, “At Terrahaptix, we offer an integrated end-to-end solution from aerial systems, ground systems, maritime systems, all powered by one operating system that is built by us — it helps for a smoother experience.”

Terrahaptix gives clients an ecosystem experience that ensures hardware and software systems communicate seamlessly.

Beyond this development, the security firm has rapidly expanded its footprint across Africa. It currently operates a 15,000-square-foot factory in Abuja’s Idu Industrial District.

Its clients base extends to South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 75 per cent of its sales coming from outside Nigeria.

The company will be looking at doubling its $2 million orders in 2024 with this new contract and the exposure it will bring.

“Our goal is to become Africa’s leading provider of autonomous security solutions for critical infrastructure,” Nwachukwu stated, adding that “This contract is a significant step toward that vision.”

The company’s product line includes the Archer VTOL drone for aerial surveillance and the Duma ground drone for on-site monitoring. Both are powered by Artemis OS, enabling real-time threat detection and response.

Its integrated hardware-software solutions and cost-effective manufacturing, sourcing 80% of materials locally, continue to be a big boost for its rapid growth. This approach allows the company to offer products at prices more than 50 per cent lower than competitors.