P&ID scam: Court adjourns Grace Taiga’s trial till Jan. 10, 2022

Bimbo Babatunde

The trial of former Director, Legal Services of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Grace Taiga, an accomplice in the multiple fraud cases involving Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) before Justice O.A. Adeniyi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court Abuja, has been adjourned until January 10, 2022, for the continuation of hearing.

At the resumed trial today, Friday, November 12, 2021, the defence counsel, Daniel Alumun, cross-examined one of the prosecution witnesses, Mohammed Ibrahim, a member of the technical committee for the reform of the oil and gas sector during the tenure of late Dr Rilwan Lukman as petroleum minister.

The witness told the court that he was not part of the discussion on any construction of a 24 inches oil pipeline from Adanga to Calabar.

Asked by Alumun whether he was aware of the Federal Government’s plan to construct a 24-inch oil pipeline, he said, ‘No’. He explained that it was not the responsibility of the technical committee but the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, as the representative of the government. “Our committee was inaugurated to reform the oil and gas sector,” he stated.

On the qualification of any company to handle such a pipeline project, the witness said such a company must have the technical and financial capacity and must be functional.

Asked whether the report of his committee was sent to the defendant at any given time, he said he could not remember.

At the end of the cross-examination, Justice Adeniyi asked the prosecuting counsel, Abba Mohammed if he needed to re-examine the witness. Mohammed said, ‘no’, and requested for an adjournment to enable him to present another witness.

The judge consequently adjourned the matter till January 10, 2022, for the continuation of the trial.

Taiga is being prosecuted by the EFCC on an eight-count charge for her role in the disputed gas contract that has pitched Nigeria against P&ID. The defendant allegedly collected bribes through her offshore bank account for signing the alleged fraudulent Gas Supply Processing Agreement between P&ID and the Federal Government of Nigeria.