Negotiating Bilateral Investment Treaties: Strategic Considerations for Nigeria’s Investment Policy

This study examines the strategic considerations that should guide Nigeria's negotiation of bilateral investment treaties (BITs), drawing on international investment law developments and the experiences of African states in investor-state dispute settlement. Nigeria has concluded BITs with numerous states, yet many of these agreements were negotiated in an era of less critical engagement with investor rights, exposing Nigeria to investor-state arbitration claims that constrain its regulatory autonomy in areas including environmental protection, public health, and taxation. Using a professional policy analysis methodology, the research reviews selected Nigerian BITs, recent ICSID and UNCITRAL awards involving African states, and the investment policy frameworks developed by UNCTAD and the African Union. It examines the tension between providing investment protection that attracts FDI and preserving Nigeria's right to regulate in the public interest, particularly in light of sustainable development objectives under the AfCFTA Investment Protocol. The paper analyses the provisions of Nigeria's model BIT, evaluating its clauses on expropriation, fair and equitable treatment, most-favoured-nation treatment, and dispute resolution against contemporary best practices. Findings indicate that Nigeria's current BIT portfolio contains provisions that could expose it to significant arbitration liability and recommends a systematic review and renegotiation programme. Recommendations include adopting a revised model BIT incorporating sustainable development language, limiting MFN clauses to dispute resolution, and building in-house investment treaty legal capacity within the Federal Ministry of Finance. Keywords: bilateral investment treaties, investor-state arbitration, Nigeria, FDI, AfCFTA.