By Peace Udugba -The daily torch media
Nigeria has secured a major international arbitration victory after a tribunal dismissed a $6.2 million claim filed by European technology contractor, European Dynamics UK Ltd, against the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
The dispute arose from a national electronic Government Procurement (eGP) project financed with support from the World Bank. The contractor had demanded about $2.4 million for alleged milestone completions, $3 million in general damages and $800,000 in settlement claims.
However, the arbitration tribunal ruled in favour of Nigeria, dismissing all claims and freeing the country from potential financial liabilities estimated at over $6.2 million (about ₦9.3 billion). The ruling is final and not subject to appeal.
The case centred on the User Acceptance Test (UAT) conducted by the BPP, which identified significant deficiencies in the software system delivered by the contractor. Nigeria argued that in software customisation projects, delivery is only deemed complete after successful performance validation. The tribunal agreed, holding that the vendor was responsible for remedying the identified defects at no extra cost.
It also ruled that there was no contractual basis for merging multi-phase modules into a single phase, as payments were structured in phases.
Nigeria’s legal team was led by Johnson & Wilner LLP, with Basil Udotai, Esq., heading the arbitration.
Speaking after the award presentation to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), BPP Director-General, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, described the outcome as a landmark victory, noting that Nigeria was the first African country to defeat the firm in arbitration.
Fagbemi commended the BPP and the legal team, saying the victory signals that Nigeria can no longer be taken for granted in international contractual disputes.
The ruling is expected to strengthen public sector technology contracting standards, particularly in areas of performance validation, milestone clarity and contract compliance.
