- The Most Impactful Provision of National Arbitration and ADR policy 2024
By Arbiter Akintoye Sowemimo
The Federal Government has formally recognized Small Claims Arbitration as a key mechanism for improving access to justice under the National Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Policy (2024–2028).
The policy, officially gazetted in October 2024, marks a significant shift in Nigeria’s dispute resolution landscape, establishing small claims arbitration not merely as a private initiative but as a government-backed framework designed to deliver faster and more affordable justice.
Policy Framework
Under the new policy, the government provides a structured framework for:
- Fast-track arbitration for small claims
- Integration into court-annexed ADR systems, including Multi-Door Courthouses
At the heart of the reform is the introduction of simplified arbitration procedures for disputes involving:
- Debt recovery of up to ₦5 million
- Breach of contract
- Landlord and tenant matters
- Consumer rights issues
1. It directly serves ordinary Nigerians
The vast majority of Nigerians are not multinational corporations or high-net-worth individuals. They are traders, tenants, small business owners, and consumers who face everyday disputes — unpaid debts, landlord harassment, faulty goods — but have no practical access to justice.
2. It addresses the courts’ backlog problem
Nigerian courts are severely congested. A small trader waiting years for a ₦200,000 debt recovery case to be heard in court effectively gets no justice at all. Simplified arbitration offers a faster, cheaper, and accessible alternative.
3. It protects tenants and landlords equally
Landlord-tenant disputes are among the most common legal conflicts affecting Nigerian households, particularly in urban areas like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. This provision gives both parties an affordable resolution mechanism.
4. It empowers consumers
With rising costs of living, consumer rights disputes — defective products, poor services, fraud — are increasingly common. Most Nigerians never pursue these claims because the cost of litigation far exceeds the value of the claim. Small claims arbitration removes that barrier.
5. It has a multiplier economic effect
When small businesses can recover debts quickly and cheaply, they stay solvent, keep employees, and continue operating. This has a cascading positive effect on local economies and livelihoods.
The 60-day court enforcement timeline and the appeals provisions are significant for practitioners, but small claims arbitration is the provision that reaches into the daily lives of the most Nigerians — the market woman, the tenant, the small contractor — and gives them something they have rarely had: accessible, affordable justice.
Arbiter Akintoye Sowemimo
[email protected]
March 2026
