— Call for Bayelsa Multi-Door Courthouse to be Preferred ADR Centre

By Samuel Oyadongha, Yenagoa

Stakeholders have urged the Bayelsa State Government to include Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) clauses in all its contracts and designate the Bayelsa Multi-Door Courthouse (BMDC) as the preferred centre for dispute resolution in the state.

This resolution was reached at the maiden Bayelsa Multi-Door Courthouse Stakeholders’ Sensitisation Conference, themed “Multi-Door Courthouse: Engine for Peace, Economic Growth & Development”, held in Yenagoa.

Among other resolutions, the conference recommended:

The inclusion of retired judges in the ADR process.

Training and retraining of lawyers and professionals on the multi-door courthouse system.

Collaboration between the Bayelsa and Rivers State multi-door courthouses and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to establish a legal production mediation programme targeting the business community.

Stakeholders also emphasized the need to integrate the multi-door courthouse system into Nigeria’s legal framework to enhance the judiciary’s efficiency.

Declaring the conference open, Governor Douye Diri, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Nimibofa Ayawei, described the multi-door courthouse system as a crucial mechanism for justice delivery. He assured the judiciary of the government’s support in strengthening ADR mechanisms.

In her address, Justice Matilda Ayemieye, Chief Judge of Bayelsa State and Chairman of the BMDC Governing Council, stressed the affordability of ADR and its role in reducing case backlogs in regular courts.

“A state with alternative dispute resolution mechanisms will enjoy greater peace, attract economic growth, and create job opportunities for lawyers and other qualified personnel,” she stated.

Justice Ayemieye expressed gratitude to the executive and legislature for enacting the BMDC law and appealed for adequate funding to support its operations.

Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Biriyai Dambo (SAN), emphasized that the multi-door courthouse system provides an alternative pathway to justice, focusing on peaceful resolution and conciliation.

In his keynote address, Mr. Kehinde Aina (SAN) advocated for a culture of ADR and its full integration into Nigeria’s judicial system. He urged stakeholders to adopt a “multi-door” mindset rather than just relying on the physical infrastructure of the system.

“For Bayelsa State to achieve peace, economic growth, and development, we must rethink and reimagine our judicial apparatus,” he stated.

Aina also called for the reform of the court registry department, describing it as the engine room of justice administration, and urged the government to invest in judicial infrastructure.

A panel session, chaired by Prof. Damfebo Derri, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Niger Delta University, featured discussions on the importance of ADR in speedy dispute resolution.

Prof. Ibibia Worika of Rivers State University emphasized that the multi-door courthouse model was developed due to rising litigation costs and should be adopted nationwide.

Justice Simon Amaduobogha shared a success story where the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) resolved a multi-million naira dispute within 24 hours using ADR.

Warmate Jones Idikio, Director General of the Yenagoa Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (YECCIMA), highlighted how ADR fosters peace, harmony, and economic growth. He called for more strategic conferences to raise awareness about ADR’s benefits.

Nyingi Eke-Spiff Utomvie, Director of the BMDC, urged the government to extend ADR services to rural areas to ensure wider accessibility.

The conference concluded with a strong endorsement of ADR as a means to enhance justice delivery, economic development, and social harmony in Bayelsa State.