Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says his administration has resolved 3,000 petitions through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), reducing potential liability of over N1.2 billion to N3 million.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed this on Monday at the Third Annual Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDC) and ADR Stakeholders’ Summit, held at the MUSON Centre, Lagos.
The summit’s theme was: “Investor Confidence and ADR: Strengthening Nigeria’s Investment Climate.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sanwo-Olu was represented by the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN).
The governor said the achievement demonstrated his administration’s commitment to accessible justice, stronger investor confidence and an improved business environment.
According to him, Lagos accounts for more than a fifth of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and attracts most foreign capital entering the country in many quarters.
“Capital stays where the rule of law is dependable and commercial disputes are settled fairly and promptly. Prolonged litigation does the opposite,” he said.
“No business, least of all a small or medium-sized one, should collapse because a commercial dispute has gone unresolved for years.”
He said settlements at the LMDC released capital for trade, payroll and production that prolonged litigation might otherwise have locked up for years.
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Sanwo-Olu said the government had placed ADR at the centre of its ease-of-doing-business agenda and the security and governance pillars of its “THEMES Plus Agenda”.
He said the High Courts, LMDC, Citizens Mediation Bureau and Lagos Court of Arbitration operated as a connected dispute-resolution system.
According to him, each institution handles disputes best suited to its mandate.
The governor reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening judicial infrastructure, citing new court facilities in Amuwo-Odofin and Epe.
“Investors do not simply invest in markets, but they invest in institutions that outlast any one administration,” he said.
“To our investors, domestic and international, let me say this plainly: Lagos is open for business, and Lagos is ready with justice.”
Sanwo-Olu urged legal practitioners to promote ADR, not merely as an alternative, but as the first resort in appropriate commercial disputes.
“Let us make Lagos not only the centre of commerce in Nigeria, but the centre of commercial justice in Africa,” he said.
He also urged lawyers to study the newly introduced ADR practice direction to ensure its effective implementation.
The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, said a stable, predictable and fair legal framework was critical to investor confidence and Nigeria’s investment climate.
Alogba said investment thrived not on opportunity alone, but also on confidence.
He said modern commercial realities required complementary dispute-resolution mechanisms, including mediation, arbitration and negotiation, alongside traditional courts.
Alogba disclosed that the LMDC had facilitated the settlement and recovery of over N86.84 billion in the past five years.
“Those are funds that have been released back into the economy for salaries, suppliers, expansions, and lending.
“That is what investor confidence looks like in practice,” he said.
He urged stakeholders to improve enforcement of settlement agreements, build the capacity of neutrals and judges, and increase the adoption of technology.
Alogba also urged participants to develop actionable solutions and measurable targets to reduce the time and cost of commercial dispute resolution.
He said the summit should go beyond issuing a communiqué.
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya (SAN), commended the LMDC for its pioneering role in transforming dispute resolution in Nigeria.
Badejo-Okunsanya said the establishment of the LMDC in June 2002 transformed justice delivery by providing citizens with multiple avenues for resolving disputes.
She said Lagos’s success had inspired similar institutions in Abuja and several states, including Ogun, Oyo, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Edo and Rivers.
Badejo-Okunsanya said investors required confidence in fair and efficient dispute-resolution mechanisms, making lawyers central to providing that assurance.
According to her, heavy commercial caseloads in jurisdictions such as Lagos made timely case resolution difficult.
She said this resulted in prolonged proceedings, deferred fees and uncertain financial returns for legal practitioners.
“To alleviate these pressures, the NBA is advocating for an effective multi-door courthouse system that expands opportunities for lawyers as counsel, mediators, arbitrators, and neutral evaluators,” she said.
She also commended Lagos Settlement Week for providing free mediation for suitable court-referred and walk-in disputes, helping to ease congested court dockets.
Badejo-Okunsanya urged the LMDC, judiciary and other stakeholders to deepen engagement with the Bar through expanded training and transparent opportunities for lawyers.
She called for fair and competitive remuneration for lawyers participating in ADR processes.
She reaffirmed the NBA’s readiness to collaborate in building lawyers’ capacity, describing fair compensation for expertise as an investment in the LMDC’s quality and sustainability.
The representative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mrs Ofure Alika, commended the LMDC for advancing ADR and promoting economic stability.
Alika, the Acting Director of the CBN Legal Services Department, said effective dispute resolution was critical to investor confidence, commercial sanctity and ease of doing business.
She said recovered funds returned to the economy reflected the success of collaborative efforts.
The apex bank commended stakeholders for strengthening Nigeria’s investment climate and expressed confidence that the summit’s deliberations would advance justice and national economic prosperity.
Earlier, the Chairman of the LMDC Governing Council, Justice Jumoke Pedro, stressed the need to leverage ADR to reduce business risks, protect investments and boost investor confidence.
Pedro said the summit provided a platform to align investment policy, commercial justice and ADR practice.
She said every efficiently resolved dispute strengthened confidence in future transactions and reinforced the credibility of Nigeria’s legal and economic institutions.
According to her, the LMDC had facilitated the recovery of billions of naira and millions of dollars over the past five years.
Pedro urged stakeholders to move beyond recognising ADR’s importance and make practical commitments to improve Nigeria’s investment climate.
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