Monday, February 23 2026 - 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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