P&ID: I am Ready to Meet You in Court, Seun Kuti Tells Senior Lawyer, Ayorinde

Segun James

Seun Kuti, son of the late Afrobeat musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has reiterated his readiness to meet the counsel who represented Nigeria in the Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited, case in London, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), in court over the libel and defamation of character suit instituted against him.
Ayorinde had debunked the claim by Kuti that as a principal counsel in the P&ID case representing Nigeria, he intentionally leaked documents to the company against the country.

Kuti at a press briefing in Lagos, denied ever committing any libel or defamation of character against Ayorinde.
Rather, he said he only read out the judgment of Justice Robin Knowles of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales, which ruled in favour of Nigeria in the enforcement of a $11 billion P&ID arbitration award on his social media handle.

He expressed surprise that Ayorinde could sue him for defamation of character and libel when the 140-page court judgment was already in the public domain.
Kuti also wondered why Ayorinde could sue him in Oyo State when both parties involved in the case are residents of Lagos.
He further emphasised that he received a Nigeria Police invitation on the matter, which he intended to honour on Thursday.
The case according to Kuti, is expected to come up for hearing in Oyo State on January 24, 2024.

Kuti, however, expressed confidence in the judiciary, insisting that justice would prevail at the end of the day.
He noted that Ayorinde attempted to silence him and other Nigerians on the case.
Kuti further commended the federal government for appealing the earlier ruling, which awarded $11 billion in damages to P&ID, saying that the judgment was unprecedented.

He said: “This is the first of its kind in the world. This case caused a serious arbitration system in the United Kingdom but didn’t make much impact in Nigeria. No one is talking about it. Nigerians must know that we are all children of sacrifice and we need to speak out on behalf of our people.
“What I did in the entire case is to read out the judgment as delivered by the UK court. I read the entire 140 pages of the judgment and whatever I said emanated from the judgment. But, Ayorinde who represented Nigeria in the case has taken me to court for libel and defamation of character. He also reported me to the police.

“The Nigeria Police is not an attack dog of anyone and I stand by the things I have said on the case. I am ready to meet him in the court.”
Ayorinde through his law firm had denied allegations made by Kuti that its principal partner leaked documents to the P&ID company that sued Nigeria.
Ayorinde had dismissed Kuti’s claims as false, misconceived, and of no substance, maintaining that no corruption charges were ever brought against him by any court or tribunal concerning the P&ID case.

Justice Knowles had in October 2023, ruled in favour of Nigeria in the enforcement of a $11 billion P&ID arbitration award.
According to the judge, the award against Nigeria by the company was obtained by fraud.