A Professional Examination of Nigeria’s Bilateral Investment Treaty Regime and Investor-State Dispute Resolution

Nigeria has concluded approximately 31 bilateral investment treaties with partner countries, providing foreign investors with substantive protections and access to investor-state dispute resolution through ICSID and UNCITRAL arbitration, yet the strategic coherence of Nigeria's BIT regime and the government's handling of investor-state claims has been criticised. This study provides a professional examination of Nigeria's BIT portfolio, the substantive standards of protection they provide, and the government's record in investor-state disputes, with reference to publicised arbitral proceedings involving Nigerian government entities from 2015 to 2023. Data were gathered through interviews with 20 international investment law practitioners and review of publicly available arbitral awards and proceedings. Results indicate that Nigeria's BIT network includes several treaties with overly broad investor protection provisions that create significant fiscal exposure, particularly through fair and equitable treatment and indirect expropriation clauses. Nigeria's track record in investor-state arbitration includes several unfavourable awards in oil and gas, telecommunications, and infrastructure disputes. Domestic review of BIT commitments before signature is inadequate. The study concludes that Nigeria requires a comprehensive BIT review and model investment agreement reform to rebalance investor protection with regulatory policy space. Recommendations include developing a Nigerian Model BIT incorporating right-to-regulate provisions, establishing an Inter-Agency Investment Treaty Review Committee, and building institutional expertise in investment arbitration defence.

Keywords: bilateral investment treaties, investor-state dispute resolution, ICSID, Nigeria, investment arbitration