P&ID case would have crippled Nigeria’s economy – Fagbemi

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said the controversial Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) arbitration case could have crippled Nigeria’s economy.

Fagbemi stated this on Thursday at the Chief Legal Advisors Forum (CLAF) 2026 in Singapore, according to a statement by Kamarudeen Ogundele, the minister’s spokesperson.

At the forum, the minister called for reforms to Nigeria’s arbitration framework to better protect national sovereignty and taxpayers.

He said Nigeria was advocating reforms that would strengthen domestic courts rather than bypass them in resolving disputes between investors and states.

The minister said Nigeria’s experience in the P&ID case had reinforced its position on the need for greater clarity in the calculation of damages awarded in international arbitration.

“States consistently express concern about the opacity of arbitral proceedings and the unpredictability of awards,” he said.

Fagbemi said Nigeria supported greater transparency in proceedings, consistency in arbitral reasoning and predictability of outcomes, describing the measures as important for both investor confidence and state trust.

He recalled that in the P&ID case, damages were calculated using compound interest, which he said could have had a “crippling effect” running into billions of dollars.

Fagbemi said the experience informed Nigeria’s efforts to reform its arbitration framework, including the reform of its Arbitration Act to strengthen transparency.

He also disclosed that, upon assuming office, he constituted a committee of experts to review Nigeria’s bilateral investment treaties and commitments under multilateral treaties and conventions.

The minister said the review was aimed at promoting and protecting investments while addressing existing challenges in the country’s investment framework.

He said reforms to investor-state dispute settlement were necessary to address what he described as structural imbalances in the international investment regime.

“Many states, Nigeria included, believe that incremental adjustments will not address the structural imbalances embedded in the current system,” he said.

Fagbemi further called for stronger national judicial institutions, saying they were central to building long-term rule-of-law capacity and reducing excessive reliance on external arbitration.

He also urged that public interest considerations, including environmental protection, human rights, community welfare and sustainable development, should be reflected in investment dispute mechanisms.

“Nigeria strongly supports reforms that ensure investment protections do not undermine legitimate public-interest regulation,” he said.

The minister said Nigeria’s 2016 Model Bilateral Investment Treaty, which is currently under review, reflected the country’s position on balancing investor protection with legitimate public-interest regulation.