The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has made a demand to see the death certificate of the late Grace Taiga, a former Director of Legal at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. Taiga is implicated in the controversial Gas Supply Processing Agreement (GSPA) between Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
On November 4, 2023, Taiga’s lawyer, Daniel Alumun, informed the Federal Capital Territory High Court about her demise. She had been standing trial before Justice Olukayode Adeniyi on charges related to bribery in connection with the GSPA. The initial arraignment occurred on September 20, 2019, with subsequent re-arraignments on October 3, 2020, and January 10, 2021.
The amended 13-count charge alleged that Taiga received a bribe through her offshore bank account in signing the controversial GPSA. The EFCC claimed she violated various laws by entering into the agreement without Federal Executive Council approval and without obtaining a Certificate of No Objection from the Bureau of Public Enterprise. Taiga, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The EFCC concluded its case on February 27, 2023, after presenting eight witnesses. The court adjourned until November 4, 2023, for the defendant to present her defense. However, on that date, Taiga’s lawyer informed the court of her passing on August 1, 2023, at an Abuja hospital.
Alumun requested the dismissal of the case, a plea the EFCC opposed. In the recent court session on Wednesday, prosecuting counsel Mohammed Hussain insisted that Taiga’s death certificate must be produced before any decision could be made.
“The certificate must be brought to the court as stipulated by the law before any decision can be taken,” Hussain stated.
Taiga’s counsel explained that the death certificate was not yet available and requested time to produce it. Consequently, Justice Adeniyi adjourned the matter until March 6 for a further report on the death certificate.
In October of the previous year, a London arbitration court set aside an $11 billion award secured by P&ID against Nigeria over the failed gas processing plant contract. Justice Robert Knowles deemed the process through which P&ID secured the 2010 contract fraudulent. The judge, however, dismissed allegations that Nigerian lawyers worked against the country’s interests by aiding P&ID.
Following the London court’s decision, the Federal Government withdrew criminal charges against former Attorney General of Lagos State, Supo Shasore (SAN), who was involved in the case.
