The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has expressed satisfaction about the judgment of a United States tribunal, which ordered InterOcean Oil Company to pay the Federal Government of Nigeria $660,129 as reimbursement of its share of the arbitration costs in the case of alleged breach of contract obligations brought against Nigeria by Interocean Development Company and Interocean Oil Exploration Company.
The AGF described the judgment as “an addition to the multiple success stories recorded in international litigations by the Federal Ministry of Justice.”
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the U.S.-Based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dispute headed by William Park ordered the oil companies to pay Nigeria $660,129.
The tribunal also held that the Nigerian government did not breach any of its obligations in the contract agreement with Interocean Development Company and Interocean Oil Exploration Company.
Umar Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Minister of Justice in Abuja, said in a release in Abuja that the tribunal ruled that the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) did not breach her obligations towards the claimants under Nigerian law or under international law.
The oil firms had through their counsel, Olasupo Shasore, SAN, prayed the tribunal to among others, direct the FGN, its privies and instrumentalities to pay them $1.5 billion as aggravated damages for alleged breach of contract obligations.