The Federal Government has achieved a major legal victory after a Tribunal of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre of the Federal High Court dismissed claims against it totaling over N4 billion and €185.7 million.
The outcome was hailed as favourable by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
This is contained in a statement signed in Friday, by Kamarudeen Ogundele, Special Assistant to the President (Communication and Publicity), Office of the AGF and Minister of Justice.
The tribunal’s ruling, delivered on November 11, 2025, followed a Notice of Arbitration filed on December 12, 2022 by Fougerolle V Fougerolle, nearly 18 years after the French construction firm terminated a civil works contract for the Ajaokuta Iron and Steel Complex in what is now Kogi State.
The company sought additional payments despite a previous bond settlement concluded in 2006.
According to a statement from the Office of the AGF, the original contract, dated March 31, 1981, was entered into between Nigeria and a joint venture of Fougerolle Nigeria Ltd and Fougerolle SA for construction works at the Ajaokuta steel project.
The claimant later requested the tribunal to order the government to pay “unverified and uncertified sums of N3,846,098,403.00” and “€185,733,496.00,” reviving a dispute that had been considered long settled.
Before the fresh claim, the Federal Government had engaged Price WaterCooperhouse to assess any outstanding obligations after the contract’s termination.
This verification process resulted in a payment of N3,894,600,000.00 to Fougerolle through FGN Bonds on September 11, 2006, which the company acknowledged via an indemnity signed on September 8, 2006, accepting the payment as “full and final settlement.”
Despite this, Fougerolle resurfaced with new claims more than 16 years later.
The tribunal upheld the government’s preliminary objection, declaring the claims as statute-barred, devoid of a reasonable cause of action, and nullified by the previous settlement and indemnity.
It further ruled that there was an “absence of a competent claimant.”
On the merits of the case, the tribunal found that Fougerolle had failed to substantiate its claims, had waived all rights to any further claim against the Federal Government, and dismissed allegations of expropriation and claims that the indemnity had been signed under duress.
The dismissal of the case, the AGF’s office noted, safeguarded Nigeria from liabilities exceeding N4 billion, and was defended entirely by officers of the Federal Ministry of Justice, reflecting the Attorney-General’s commitment to strengthening internal legal capacity.
The statement further emphasised that the ruling underscores the current administration’s determination to resist opportunistic claims against Nigeria and highlights continued support for Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms as a means of resolving commercial disputes.
