By: Aondoakaa Tersugh Daniel | 10/06/2026

There are moments in a nation’s legal history that pass without the public fully grasping how close the edge was. Nigeria stood at one such edge, staring down an $11 billion liability that could have triggered a financial catastrophe of generational proportions. That it did not happen is not accidental. It is, in very large part, the story of one lawyer, one former Attorney General of the Federation, who refused to let Nigeria be robbed in a suit and tie.

The case in question is the P&ID dispute, arguably the most dangerous legal and financial threat Nigeria has faced in its post-independence history. Process and Industrial Developments Limited, a company floated by two Irish businessmen, anchored its claim on a Gas Supply and Processing Agreement signed in 2010. The terms were straightforward on paper: Nigeria would supply wet gas, P&ID would build and operate a processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State. Nigeria allegedly failed to supply the gas. But there was no site to make the supply in the first place, because no construction had been done anywhere in Calabar for such purposes. P&ID went to arbitration, won, and the award ballooned from approximately $6.6 billion to nearly $11 billion with accumulated interest. For context, that figure at the time represented a significant fraction of Nigeria’s foreign reserves. A judgment of that magnitude, enforced against Nigerian assets abroad, would have been a national catastrophe.

Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa SAN was Attorney General of the Federation when that agreement was allegedly signed in 2010 under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. When the crisis matured into a full legal emergency years later, he stepped forward and made the argument that unravelled the entire arrangement. His position was precise and prosecutorial: the contract was never subjected to Federal Executive Council approval as required by law, the deal bore the fingerprints of fraud from inception, and a coalition of Nigerian officials and foreign actors had conspired to engineer a liability that the Nigerian people would be made to pay. The office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice was not consulted on the contract. Neither was the Infrastructure Regulatory Commission. That argument gave Nigeria the legal and moral ground to fight back. It is on record that his intervention was central to turning the tide of a case that had appeared already lost. It was a case of fraud. Aondoakaa was drafted into the legal team to defend Nigeria. Nigeria won.

That history is not being recalled here for sentiment. It is being recalled because it is directly relevant to what is happening in Benue State today under the Alia administration.

The questions surrounding how contracts have been awarded under Governor Hyacinth Iormen Alia, why projects sit stalled at mobilisation stage, why garnishee orders are freezing state accounts, and why a N68 billion road looks more like an excavation exhibition than a construction site, all of these questions bear an uncomfortable structural resemblance to the P&ID anatomy. Inflated figures. Questionable approvals. Mobilisation paid, work abandoned. The public left staring at broken earth. It is alleged that some of these contracts have been padded by as much as 140% above their legitimate value. If that allegation has any substance, it means Benue State is carrying a fiscal weight that was artificially manufactured to benefit a few people at the top of the food chain.

And it does not stop at the major contracts. It is also alleged that the Governor has directed council chairmen across all 23 local government areas of Benue State to award N5 billion road contracts covering five kilometres in each area, at a flat rate of N1 billion per kilometre. That flat rate is applied uniformly without any regard to the varying soil types and topographic conditions across these 23 local government areas, factors that any competent engineer or quantity surveyor would insist must reasonably and necessarily affect cost from one location to another. A road through the hilly terrain of one local government area does not cost the same as a road across the flatter landscapes of another. When a government ignores that basic reality and fixes a uniform price across the entire state, the question is not whether padding exists. The question is how much and who is collecting it. Across 23 local government areas, a flat and unjustifiable rate of N1 billion per kilometre has the potential to manufacture billions in artificial expenditure, all of it traceable to a single directive from the top.

There is approximately one year left in the Alia administration. That window may not be enough to complete what has been deliberately left incomplete. Any contractor banking on the continuation of the current arrangement to escape scrutiny should now begin to think differently. When Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa SAN becomes Governor of Benue State, he will not be arriving as a newcomer to the business of unravelling fraudulent contracts. He arrives as a man who has already done it at the level of an $11 billion international arbitration dispute. He saved Nigeria from that exposure. The question that should now keep contractors and their accomplices awake at night is this: what would he do to a local contract padded at 140% in a state he is coming to govern?

The answer is not difficult to find. An Aondoakaa administration would conduct a full reevaluation of every contract awarded under the current dispensation. Projects found uncompleted would face fresh scrutiny on their terms, their award processes, and their payment histories. Projects completed but with outstanding payment claims would be examined against their original contract sums and the going market rates for similar work. Where padding is established, the demand would not be for sympathy. It would be for refunds.

Contractors who chose to participate in a system where mobilisation funds were allegedly siphoned before work could begin are not entirely blameless actors. They signed contracts. They collected funds. They broke ground to create the appearance of work, and then they stopped. A state that has had its accounts frozen by garnishee orders because of those arrangements deserves a government that will trace every naira back to its source and account for where it went.

It should be clearly understood that money has DNA and its end users can be traced. This is where the Tiv adage finds full expression: when you pull the tail, the head comes along. Alia is setting himself up for what many may be persuaded to call a witch-hunt when his four years are over, but the questionable contracts are a problem the masses are not seeing now. Those who are potential accomplices should take note. When the time of reckoning comes, the office of the Attorney General of the state would be dragged into it. The procurement office would be dragged into it. All contractors would be dragged into it. All local government chairmen would be dragged into it. At the end, Alia himself would be brought to question. Make no mistake, Alia already has a place in the prison and is only waiting for the time the pronouncement would come. The case of Suswam is far more tolerable than what Alia is currently doing.

Chief Aondoakaa rebuilt his national reputation on exactly that kind of reckoning. Benue is a smaller theatre but the stakes for its people are no less real. The man who defended a nation against an $11 billion fraud is more than equipped to defend a state against its own internal version of the same disease.

The P&ID case taught Nigeria that fraudulent contracts, no matter how cleverly dressed in legal language, can be unwound when the right person is willing to stand up and pull the thread. Benue’s contracts are waiting for that same hand. It is coming.

No fewer than 177 Nigerians deported from Agadez in the Republic of Niger have arrived at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, for processing and reintegration.

Sources said the deportees arrived aboard an aircraft from Agadez at about 12:54 p.m. on Monday.

The returnees, comprising men, women and children, were received at the airport by officials of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The agencies commenced documentation and profiling of the deportees as part of procedures aimed at determining their identities, states of origin and immediate humanitarian needs.

Officials said the deportees would undergo necessary screening before being handed over to relevant authorities for further assistance and reintegration programmes.

The development is part of ongoing migration and border management efforts involving authorities in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

Further details on the circumstances surrounding their deportation were not immediately available at the time of filing this report.

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has assured that he will hand over a more stable, secure, and economically viable Borno to his successor, Engineer Mustapha Gubio.

A statement by Dauda Iliya, the Givernors spokrsman stated that, Zulum gave the assurance on Monday when he received prominent sons and daughters of Gubio Local Government Area, led by elder statesman Alhaji Gambo Gubio, on a visit to him.
The visit to the Government House, Maiduguri, whih included the APC gubernatorial candidate, Engr. Mustapha Gubio, was to thank the govetmor for choosing their son as successor.

The delegation which included the Chairman of the Borno State Civil Service Commission, Dr. Bulama Mali Gubio; a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Fanta Baba Shehu; the Executive Chairman of Gubio, Hon. Mali Bulama Mali; a retired Commissioner of Police; and former Council chairmen, was also part of ongoing consultations with the governor.
Governor Zulum, noted that despite the challenges confronting the state, particularly insecurity, his administration remains committed to consolidating on the gains achieved over the years and laying a stronger foundation for sustainable development.

“Security is the most difficult issue. Insha Allah, before I leave, the situation will be better than now. I will hand over a more stable, more prosperous, and more secure government to Engr. Mustapha Gubio, Insha Allah,” Zulum declared.

He emphasised that sustaining achievements is often more difficult than attaining them, urging continued support and prayers for the APC governorship candidate.

“What matters is not just success; managing success is more difficult than achieving success itself. Managing success and managing the affairs of Borno State is not easy, but with collective support, prayers, and guidance, God will give him the wisdom and energy to succeed as a candidate and, Insha Allah, as Governor,” he said.

Extolling the leadership qualities of Engr. Mustapha Gubio, Governor Zulum described him as a man of integrity, humility, and composure whom he has known for more than two decades.

“Alhaji Mustapha Gubio, I have known him for the past 26 years, since he was a student at the University of Maiduguri. His integrity is evident; he is humane, very gentle, and composed. Insha Allah, God will help him to steer the mantle of leadership of Borno State,” Zulum stated.

The Governor added, “We will continue to pray for our gubernatorial candidate so that the Almighty will give him the wisdom and the wherewithal to steer the leadership of the state.”

Reflecting on the challenges he encountered at the beginning of his administration in 2019, Zulum recalled the sacrifices required to confront the state’s security and humanitarian crises.

“When I took over the leadership of the state, in the first 55 days of my administration, I saw my children only three times. The first four years were really challenging, but Almighty Allah has helped us to see light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

The Governor expressed appreciation to the delegation for the visit. “As Muslims, when we seek Allah’s guidance and pray for the best outcome, we must accept His decision with complete faith and conviction, knowing that whatever He chooses is ultimately the best for us,” Zulum remarked.

Leader of the delegation, Alhaji Gambo Gubio, commended Governor Zulum for his pivotal role in the emergence of Engr. Mustapha Gubio as the APC governorship candidate for the 2027 election.

“We are here today to express our profound gratitude and thanks for this remarkable occasion. Words alone cannot adequately convey the depth of our feelings or fully capture all that we wish to say. However, we remain sincerely grateful and deeply appreciative,” Alhaji Gambo said.

He described the APC candidate as a worthy son of Gubio and expressed confidence in his future leadership.

Alhaji Gambo also acknowledged Governor Zulum’s achievements in security, infrastructure development, and governance, noting that “Zulum is succeeding,”.