An arbitration tribunal has dismissed a €185 million and N3.8 billion claim filed by a French company against Federal government in connection with the Ajaokuta steel project.
Gatekeepers News reports that the announcement was made on Friday in a statement by Kamarudeen Ogundele, special adviser to the president on communication and publicity in the office of the Attorney-General of the federation and Minister of Justice.
Ogundele revealed that the final arbitral decision was delivered on November 11, 2025, by a panel sitting under the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) centre of the federal high court.
The tribunal accepted the federal government’s preliminary objections and declared the company’s claims statute-barred.
The statement reads, “The Claimant (Fougerolle V Fougerolle) initiated the arbitration vide a Notice of Arbitration dated 12th December, 2022, about 18 years after the subject Contract was terminated by the Claimant on 30th January, 2004.”
According to the federal government, the case arose from a contract signed on March 31, 1981, between Nigeria and a joint venture involving Fougerolle Nigeria Ltd and Fougerolle SA of France for civil works at the Ajaokuta Iron and Steel Complex in what is now Kogi State.
Despite the agreed terms, the company sought to compel the government to pay N3,846,098,403.00 and €185,733,496.00 in additional sums that had neither been verified nor certified.
The government explained that Price WaterhouseCoopers had previously been engaged to verify all outstanding obligations following the contract’s termination.
This audit led to the payment of N3,894,600,000.00 to Fougerolle through FGN Bonds on September 11, 2006. The company also signed an indemnity on September 8, 2006, accepting that payment as a complete and final settlement. Yet, more than 16 years later, Fougerolle brought the fresh claims.
Ogundele said the tribunal supported the government’s objection to the company’s phantom claims, citing reasons such as being statute-barred, lacking a reasonable cause of action, having been extinguished by the FGN bond settlement and indemnity, and the absence of a competent claimant.
He added that, on examining the substance of the case, the tribunal concluded that Fougerolle failed to prove its allegations. The ruling affirmed that all contractual obligations had already been satisfied by the bond payment, leaving the company with no further entitlements.
The tribunal also rejected Fougerolle’s allegations of expropriation and its claim that the indemnity was signed under duress.
The statement added, “The entire case was eventually dismissed thereby saving FGN of over N4 billion liabilities.”
Ogundele noted that officers of the Federal Ministry of Justice handled the defence, reflecting the attorney-general’s commitment to strengthening the ministry’s capacity in managing complex litigation and ADR matters on behalf of the federal government.
According to him, the ruling reaffirms the administration’s resolve to confront predatory and opportunistic claims while promoting ADR as a viable tool for resolving disputes.
