Legal giant Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) has denied any involvement in the controversial Process & Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID) case.
Nigeria secured a landmark victory in overturning a $10 billion judgment awarded against it in the case.
Judge Ross Cranston of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales granted Nigeria’s application for sanction relief.
Sagay, who served as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACAC) in the last administration, said he was named in the judgment as having played a role in the deal when he had nothing to do with it.
He said,
“There is a report that I was involved in the P&ID case, that Olasupo Shasore wrote to me asking me to write an opinion in support of Nigeria in the case, and that after I studied the papers, I wrote back to him that the opinion written by Justice Belgore in favour of P&ID was so strong that Nigeria’s position is very, very bad, and that it would take a great deal of intellectual and other effort to be able to dent it. My name is in the judgment.
“I wish to state that under no circumstances did Shasore ever write to me. I know nothing about the P&ID case. I’m just seeing it for the first time. I have nothing to do with P&ID.
“I will never be involved in anything that will run Nigeria down or denigrate Nigeria in any way. I am completely innocent.
“So, the whole statement reported in the judgment that Shasore wrote to me and that I replied that their case was very strong and the report written by Justice Belgore on behalf of P&ID is very strong and that it will take a lot of hard work to dent it, not me.”
“It’s a manufactured story and is absolutely untrue. I have absolutely nothing to do with P&ID.”