The Federal Government has secured an arbitral victory that saved it more than N4 billion and €185.7 million in a long-running dispute with French construction company Fougourolle SA and its joint venture partner, Fougerolle Nigeria Ltd.
According to a statement on Friday by Kamarudeen Ogundele, media aide to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the final award was delivered on November 11, 2025, by a tribunal under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre of the Federal High Court.
Ogundele said the Attorney-General welcomed the ruling, noting that the claimants initiated the arbitration on December 12, 2022—about 18 years after they terminated the underlying contract on January 30, 2004.
The dispute stemmed from a March 31, 1981 contract between the Federal Government and the joint venture for civil works at the Ajaokuta Iron and Steel Complex in present-day Kogi State.
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Despite provisions of the contract, Fougerolle sought additional payments totalling N3.85 billion and €185.7 million—amounts the Federal Government insisted were unverified and uncertified.
The statement noted that the government had earlier engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers to review all outstanding obligations after the project was terminated. Following the audit, the Federal Government issued FGN Bonds worth N3.89 billion to Fougerolle on September 11, 2006. The company signed an indemnity two days earlier, acknowledging the payment as full and final settlement.
“However, more than 16 years later, Fougerolle returned with fresh claims,” Ogundele said.
The tribunal upheld the Federal Government’s preliminary objection, ruling that the claims were statute-barred, lacked a reasonable cause of action, and were extinguished by the previous bond payment and indemnity. It also found that the claimants failed to show they remained a competent party to bring the action.
Even when considered on the merits, the tribunal held that Fougerolle had waived any further rights to compensation, affirming that the FGN Bonds discharged all contractual obligations. It rejected the firm’s allegations of expropriation and its claim that the indemnity was signed under duress.
With the entire case dismissed, the ruling saved the Federal Government more than N4 billion in potential liabilities.
Ogundele added that the case was handled by officials of the Ministry of Justice, reflecting the Attorney-General’s push to strengthen internal capacity to manage complex litigation and ADR proceedings.
He said the decision reinforces the administration’s commitment to resisting opportunistic claims against Nigeria while promoting alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
