Nigeria has emerged victorious in an international arbitration dispute involving European technology contractor European Dynamics UK Ltd, saving the country from a potential financial exposure of over $6.2 million (approximately ₦9.3 billion).
The dispute arose from a national e-Procurement project managed by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and ended with the tribunal dismissing the contractor’s claims in their entirety.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Special Assistant to the President on Communication and Publicity (Office of the Attorney General of the Federation), Kamarudeen Ogundele, described the ruling as “final and not subject to appeal.”
“In another victory for the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria, through the BPP, has yet again won a complex international arbitration. European Dynamics UK Ltd 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,” the statement read.
The contractor had claimed $2.4 million for alleged milestone completions, $3 million in general damages, and an additional $800,000 in settlement claims.
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, hailed the outcome, declaring, “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 the 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, aimed at enhancing 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 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 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.
During a formal presentation of the award to the AGF, Adedokun said, “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.”
Fagbemi commended the BPP leadership and the legal team, stating, “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.”
