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UK Court of Appeal upholds Nigeria’s victory in multibillion-dollar P&ID gas contract dispute

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UK Court of Appeal on Tuesday upheld Nigeria’s hard-won victory in the high-profile $11 billion lawsuit filed by British Virgin Islands company Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID), capping the years-long legal battle that began in 2017. Justice Julian Flaux tossed out an appeal filed by British lawyer Seamus Andrew, who asked the appellate court to reverse a 2023 ruling that favoured Nigeria and granted the West African nation reprieve from paying $11 billion damages sought by P&ID over a botched gas contract. P&ID had sued the Nigerian government for alleged breach of a Gas Supply & Processing Agreement, securing a $6.6 billion arbitration award that ballooned to $11 billion with interest. 
But the Nigerian authorities fiercely pushed back, challenging the decision in court with overwhelming evidence that the British company secured the contract through unscrupulous means. P&ID was accused of accessing Nigeria’s confidential records through the backdoor and using the fraudulently obtained information to fight the African nation. Mounting evidence of bribery and corruption ultimately led Judge Robin Knowles to scrap the award in October 2023. Instead of awarding damages, the judge ordered P&ID to pay Nigeria’s legal fees in the case. Undeterred, Mr Andrew sought to overturn the verdict and prayed the court for permission to appeal the case. But Mr Flaux said the notice of appeal for such matters ought to have been filed 21 days post-judgement, which should have been November  13, 2023, given the judgement was delivered October 23, 2023.
He said Mr Andrew had been privy to the lawsuit from the onset and ought to know to file his appeal promptly. The judge thereafter dismissed Mr Andrew’s permission to appeal due to his tardiness, asserting his excuse of confusion about the specific date is not tenable. “Before 13 November 2023, he could and should have sought a direction from the judge under CPR 52.12(2)(a) to extend time for service of any Appellant’s Notice,” the judge wrote in his ruling on Tuesday. “As Mr Ford submitted correctly, not knowing or being confused about the deadline for applying for permission to appeal is not a sufficient excuse for failing to comply. Accordingly, I am not prepared to grant such relief from sanctions and conclude that the application for permission to appeal is out of time and should be refused on that ground alone,” stated the judge in his ruling.
The latest ruling seals Nigeria’s resounding victory on the botched contract that would have drained its foreign assets. Reacting to his loss, Mr Andrew remained optimistic that he will still be vindicated. “Although I am disappointed by the outcome of my appeal, I believe that I acted in accordance with my professional duties and I am confident that my position will be vindicated in due course,” the British lawyer said.

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Cardano rises as midnight launch triggers rally

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Cardano (ADAUSD) climbed amidst tight trading activities in the crypto market, up by 1.05% in the past 24 hours, showing resilience near key support.

The price ticked up on Sunday amidst negative movements in the global crypto market. The gain has reduced its negative movement in the week to 1%. Cardano is showing strength with a $70 million ADA treasury push and a bullish December setup, but it faces key resistance amidst competing traders.  

The token is trading at $0.4165 at the time of filing the report on Sunday, gaining more than 1% on the day as volume traded reached $359.252 million. The token is in a notable correction from its November highs. Recent trading activity reflects pronounced investor caution. Over a 30-day period, ADA has declined approximately 15%, mirroring the broader pressure on risk assets from macroeconomic uncertainties.

Sentiment trades mixed, as retail and mid-sized investors are accumulating at lows, but large holders remain sceptical. Cardano’s privacy-centric Midnight Network went live after years of development, introducing NIGHT – the first native asset on Cardano.

According to crypto analysts, Short-term speculation around NIGHT airdrops and interoperability boosted ADA demand. ADA rebounded from $0.371–$0.416 after testing an ascending trend line connecting 2023–2025 lows. Traders interpreted the bounce as a bullish divergence, but ADA remains below critical resistance of $0.5113 and its 200-day EMA of $0.68.

ADA’s minor rally reflects optimism around Midnight’s launch and oversold technicals, but scepticism about its ecosystem impact and whale selling caps upside. While the price surges, analysts stated that Cardano balances technical hope against macroeconomic headwinds, with Midnight’s adoption trajectory and $0.51 resistance serving as critical watch points.

While governance upgrades signal maturing decentralisation, crypto analysts are still querying whether ADA can leverage these developments to reverse its 2025 underperformance.

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NDLEA intercepts 7.6m tramadol pills, 76,273kg Colorado

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has recovered over 7.6 million pills of tramadol and a total of 76,273.4 kilograms of different strains of cannabis.

The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. Mr Babafemi said that the drugs, including Colorado, Loud and Skunks, had several members of drug trafficking organisations linked to the seizures arrested.

He said that out of the total opioids seized during the raids, not less than 3,874,000 pills of tramadol, 225mg and 100mg, and others, as well as 252.2litres of codeine syrup were recovered. He said that they were recovered from a warehouse at Oko market, Asaba, Delta, on Saturday. He also said that no fewer than 1.2 million tablets of tramadol 225mg were seized from a suspect on December 3.

This, he said, was when NDLEA operatives on patrol at Orogwe, along the Onitsha-Owerri road, Imo, intercepted his vehicle conveying the consignment, which was loaded at Aba, Abia, and heading to Onitsha, Anambra. Meanwhile, in Adamawa, NDLEA officers on December 1 intercepted a Toyota Hiace bus marked MGU 554 XB along Maraba-Mubi, coming from Jos, Plateau state, and heading to Mubi, with a total of 1,577,112 capsules of tramadol.

“Other drugs intercepted were Exol-5 tablets, all concealed inside jumbo bags mixed with new rubber sandals and slippers. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure. Similarly, another 27-year-old suspect was nabbed along Zaria-Kano road, Kano state, with 197,000 pills of exol-5,” he said.

The NDLEA chairman, Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the SOU commands in Delta, Adamawa, Imo, Ondo, Lagos, and Kano for the arrests and seizures. Mr Marwa said that their operational successes, along with those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction, were well appreciated. NAN

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Lagos, Kaduna, Oyo, FCT, Ogun top 2025 subnational ease of doing business report  

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The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has released the 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Report, with Lagos emerging as the best-performing state, scoring  85.6 per cent.

The report released by the director-general of PEBEC, Zahrah Mustapha-Audu, has Kaduna in second position with  65.1 per cent. Oyo, FCT, and Ogun rounded up the top five with scores of 62.7 per cent, 61.0 per cent, and 59.9 per cent, respectively. Others include Enugu (56.2 per cent) in sixth position, with Plateau (56.2 per cent), Ekiti (55.8 per cent), Kano (54.8 per cent), and Nasarawa (53.4 per cent) rounding out the top 10 states.

The EoDB report is a comprehensive data-driven assessment of how Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT are shaping business competitiveness through regulation, infrastructure, and administrative efficiency.
The report assesses performance across 16 indicators and 36 sub-metrics covering electricity, infrastructure, digital connectivity, land administration, taxation, trade logistics, justice delivery, investor support and skilled labour readiness.

According to the DG, these states distinguished themselves through consistent reform momentum, improved digital processes, and more predictable regulatory environments. “The 2025 Report also highlights five priority interventions states can implement immediately. These include establishing investor aftercare systems, strengthening MSME credit enablement, harmonising interstate trade rules, upgrading commercial justice processes, and improving power reliability for industrial clusters,” she said.

According to her, PEBEC  will continue to support state-led reform adoption, particularly under the $750 million State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) programme. She added that “the 2025 Subnational EoDB Report provides a critical foundation for policy action, investment decisions, and long-term competitiveness across Nigeria.”
The DG said the  Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report is available for download at www.pebec.gov.ng/reports

PEBEC had earlier released its 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Performance Report, covering MDAs’ performance from January to October. This performance report is part of the council’s  effort to track and measure the compliance of federal government MDAs with the BFA’s requirements on promoting Transparency and Efficiency of government-delivered services to the  business community.

The report presents a data-driven assessment of 69 priority MDAs, drawing on monthly compliance submissions, independent mystery shopping, website audits, ReportGov analytics, and targeted process-verification exercises.

According to the report, the top five performing MDAs include the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), with an impressive 90.6 per cent score, followed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at 89 per cent. The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), ranks third with 86.6percent, the  Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) secured the fourth and fifth positions, scoring 85.3 per cent and 84.2 per cent, respectively.

PEBEC, currently chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, was established in July 2016 by the federal government to oversee Nigeria’s business environment intervention. It has a dual mandate of removing bureaucratic and legislative constraints to doing business and improving the perception of the ease of doing business in Nigeria. NAN

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