Justice Reform & Development Initiative

Congratulations 🎊 City Boys.

“To Reduce the Burden on Our Courts, We Must Change How We Approach Alternative Dispute Resolution”

Today, I delivered a goodwill message at the 2025 Hybrid Annual Conference of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (NICArb), themed “Strengthening Institutional Arbitration in Africa: Charting a New Path.”

I must commend NICArb for consistently providing a platform that pushes the boundaries of dispute resolution practice in Africa. As our justice system evolves, we must collectively deepen conversations on how to make dispute resolution more efficient, timely, and responsive to the needs of our people.

One of the key points I emphasized today is the urgent need to embrace Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR, more deliberately. Our courts, especially the Supreme Court, remain overburdened. Thousands of matters continue to pile up every year and this slows down justice delivery for everyone. Strengthening the use of arbitration, mediation, and other ADR mechanisms is a practical way to reduce this burden while helping parties save time and cost.

More importantly, we must stop approaching arbitration with the same adversarial mindset we take to court. ADR is not war. It is not an arena for winners and losers. It is a collaborative process built on compromise, problem solving, and preserving relationships. When parties go into arbitration determined to win at all costs, they undermine the very essence of ADR.

As legal professionals, policymakers, and institutional leaders, we must work together to strengthen arbitration frameworks, build capacity, and promote a dispute resolution culture that reflects global best practices.

Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN
President, Nigerian Bar Association

Justice for
Seven years later the perpetrators
are walking freely

NBA conference 2025 Enugu Nigeria.