Nigeria has secured victory in an international arbitration dispute involving a European technology contractor, saving the country from a potential financial exposure of over $6.2m.
The dispute, which arose from a national e-Procurement project handled by the Bureau of Public Procurement, ended with the tribunal dismissing the European Dynamics UK Ltd claims in their entirety.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Special Assistant to the President on Communication and Publicity (Office of the Attorney General of the Federation), Kamarudeen Ogundele, the ruling was described as final and not subject to appeal.”
“In another victory by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria, through the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has yet again won a complex international arbitration.
“European Dynamics UK Ltd, an international technology contractor, had entered into a dispute with the bureau over a national e-Procurement project.
“In the ruling, which is final and not subject to appeal, the tribunal dismissed the contractor’s claims in their entirety, relieving Nigeria of potential financial exposure estimated at over $6.2 million (approximately N9.3 billion) in claimed payments and damages,” the statement read.
The contractor had claimed about $2.4m for alleged milestone completions, $3m in general damages and an additional $800,000 in settlement claims.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, hailed the outcome, declaring that “it is no longer business as usual.”
The legal team representing Nigeria was led by Johnson & Wilner LLP, with Basil Udotai, Esq., serving as lead counsel.
The Director-General of the BPP, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, inherited the dispute and stalled technology project upon assuming office.
The underlying contract involved the design, development, supply, installation and maintenance of a national electronic Government Procurement system supported by the World Bank.
The project was aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability and efficiency across federal procurement processes.
Central to the dispute was the User Acceptance Test conducted by the bureau, which reportedly identified significant functional deficiencies, including critical omissions and system performance errors.
The BPP argued that software customisation contracts are performance-validated, meaning delivery is only complete upon satisfactory User Acceptance Testing confirming that the system meets contractual and operational requirements.
The tribunal upheld Nigeria’s position, ruling that the identified deficiencies were the vendor’s responsibility to remedy at no additional cost.
It further held that the contractor, as a technical expert, bore the obligation to ensure compliance with contractual requirements irrespective of earlier approvals of technical documents.
The tribunal also ruled that there was no evidence that the bureau consented to merging multi-phase modules into a single phase, noting that payments were structured in phases.
“Nothing in the Contract suggests that such a merger is permissible, particularly given that payment is structured in phases. Consequently, the contractual framework was distorted,” the ruling stated.
All claims by the contractor were subsequently dismissed.
Speaking during a formal presentation of the award to the AGF, Adedokun described the outcome as significant for public sector technology contracting.
“This particular vendor has taken various African countries to court and won every single case. Nigeria is the first to defeat them. We stood our ground against one of the best legal teams in the world because we believed in the expertise of our own Nigerian legal professionals,” he said.
He thanked Fagbemi for approving the continuation of the arbitral proceedings, noting that the decision prevented the loss of billions of naira that can now be channelled towards national development.
Responding, Fagbemi commended the BPP leadership and the legal team for what he described as courage and brilliance.
“Nigeria is a country blessed with both natural and human resources. This win sends a clear message to the international community: Nigeria has resonated. It is no longer business as usual.
“By standing up to European Dynamics, we have instilled courage in other African nations to protect their own resources,” he said.
The minister also praised the administration of President Bola Tinubu for supporting institutional strengthening within the justice sector.
The statement noted that the ruling reinforced the importance of rigorous User Acceptance Testing, clear milestone definitions and expert-driven software delivery standards in government technology projects.
It added that lessons from the arbitration would be incorporated into ongoing e-procurement reforms to strengthen contract performance oversight and minimise the risk of future disputes.
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