Nigeria wins $6.2m arbitration case against European tech firm

Nigeria government has secured a major international arbitration victory after a tribunal dismissed in full the $6.2 million claims filed by European Dynamics UK Ltd against the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

The decision, which is final and not subject to appeal, frees the country from a potential financial liability estimated at over $6.2 million (about N9.3 billion) in alleged payments and damages.

According to a statement by Kamarudeen Ogundele, Special Assistant to the President on Communication and Publicity,
Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the dispute arose from a national electronic Government Procurement (eGP) project supported by the World Bank, with the contractor claiming about $2.4 million for alleged milestone completions, $3 million in general damages and an additional $800,000 in settlement claims.

Nigeria’s defence was handled by Johnson & Wilner LLP, led by Basil Udotai Esq., which successfully represented the country. According to the BPP, its Director-General, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, inherited both the stalled project and the arbitration upon assumption of office.

Although there had been earlier discussions about an out-of-court settlement, the bureau chose to proceed with arbitration, insisting that payments must strictly correspond to verified value delivered.

Central to the dispute was the User Acceptance Test (UAT), which the bureau said exposed significant functional deficiencies in the software system, including critical omissions and errors affecting performance.

The BPP maintained that software customisation projects are performance-driven and that delivery is only complete after a satisfactory UAT confirms compliance with technical and statutory requirements.

In its ruling, the tribunal upheld Nigeria’s position, that the identified deficiencies were the contractor’s responsibility to remedy at no extra cost. It further ruled that the vendor, as the technical expert, bore the obligation to ensure full contractual compliance and found no evidence that the BPP approved the merger of multi-phase modules into a single phase.

Speaking during the formal presentation of the award to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Adedokun described the outcome as a major milestone.

He said the vendor had previously won cases against several African countries but noted that Nigeria stood firm based on confidence in its legal team.

Responding, Fagbemi commended the BPP leadership and the legal team, saying the victory sends a strong message that Nigeria can no longer be taken for granted.

He added that the development would encourage other African countries to protect their resources and commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for supporting institutional strengthening in the justice sector.