By: ThinkBusiness Africa
The Federal Government of Nigeria has secured a landmark legal victory against European Dynamics UK Ltd, dismissing a $6.2 million (N9.3 billion) claim following a protracted international arbitration over a stalled national e-procurement project, Presidency said on Sunday.
According to a statement from Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesman, the final ruling, which is not subject to appeal, marks a significant shift in how Nigeria handles high-stakes technology disputes.
The dispute originated from a contract for a World Bank-supported electronic Government Procurement (eGP) system. The tribunal’s decision centered on three critical failures by the contractor:
The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) identified “significant functional deficiencies” during testing. The tribunal ruled that in software contracts, delivery is only valid if the system performs according to statutory requirements.
As the technical expert, the contractor bore the sole obligation to ensure the system worked, regardless of any prior approvals of technical documents by the BPP.
The contractor attempted to merge multiple payment phases into one. The tribunal found no evidence the BPP consented to this, ruling that it “distorted” the contractual framework.
Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, Director-General of the BPP, noted that this specific vendor had previously won similar cases against various African countries.
“Nigeria is the first to defeat them,” Adedokun stated. “We stood our ground because we believed in the expertise of our own Nigerian legal professionals.” He said.
Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), hailed the victory as a signal to the international community that Nigeria is strengthening its institutions and protecting national resources from “vulture” litigation.
