• As AGF says P&ID award could have crippled economy
• Urges stronger domestic courts, transparency, limits on investor-state awards
Nigeria has called for far-reaching United Nations-backed reforms of the international investor-state dispute settlement system.
It warned that arbitration processes must not undermine national sovereignty or expose countries to potentially crippling financial awards.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said Nigeria’s experience in the Process and Industrial Developments Ltd. (P&ID) arbitration case had reinforced the urgency of reforming the global framework for resolving disputes between investors and states.
Fagbemi spoke yesterday at the Heads of Delegations Roundtable during the Chief Legal Advisers Forum (CLAF) 2026 in Singapore, where he advocated reforms that would strengthen, rather than bypass, domestic judicial institutions.
The minister said the proposed reforms were necessary to address what he described as inadequacies and imbalances in the existing Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) framework, while protecting investments, national sovereignty and taxpayers.
He said Nigeria had become a strong advocate of clearer rules for calculating damages following its experience in the P&ID case, which, according to him, could have had a crippling effect on the country’s economy.
Fagbemi said the Federal Government had already begun reviewing Nigeria’s investment treaty obligations in response to emerging challenges in international investment arbitration.
He said that upon assuming office, he constituted a committee of experts to review Nigeria’s bilateral investment treaties as well as its commitments under multilateral treaties and conventions, to promote and protect investments in the country.
According to him, as global investment flows evolve and governments confront increasingly complex development challenges, the need for a modern, balanced and credible dispute-settlement system has become more urgent.
The AGF said Nigeria supported reforms that would improve transparency, strengthen procedural safeguards and introduce greater consistency and accountability into the arbitration system.
He added that Nigeria had acknowledged the need to reform its arbitration laws to reflect the growing demand for transparency and alternative approaches to traditional arbitration.
Fagbemi said reform of the ISDS framework was no longer optional if the international investment regime was to retain its legitimacy.
The minister also called for greater emphasis on strengthening national courts, arguing that domestic judicial institutions should play a stronger role in resolving investment disputes.
He said Nigeria also supported the integration of public-interest considerations into the ISDS system, including climate action, environmental protection, human rights obligations, community welfare and sustainable development.
Fagbemi stressed that investment protection agreements should not prevent governments from pursuing legitimate public-interest policies.
The AGF’s position was contained in a statement issued by Kamarudeen Ogundele, Special Adviser to the President on Communication and Publicity in the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
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