There has been a clarion call for the residents of Ibadan to make use of Alternative Dispute Resolution Avenue to amicably settle some civil issues instead of going to conventional court.
The member of the Board of the Oyo State Multi Door Court House made this known while interacting with newsmen in Ibadan. Represented by the trio of Mr Adewale Adesina; chairman publicity and awareness committee, Mrs Anuolu Gade; a Director and Mr Emmanuel Olaleye; Case manager and Dispute Resolution Officer, they laid bare the importance of embracing Alternative Dispute Resolution platform by the populace.
The Multi Door Court was established last year, 2018 by the Oyo state Government to cater for and resolve civil disagreement and conflicts in the Society.
According to them, Alternative Dispute Resolution is a worldwide acceptable means of civil conflict resolution which is time friendly and economical as different from litigation in conventional courts system.
Speaking further Mr Adewale Adesina noted that most cases take to court are cases that can be amicably settled out of court and infact. Some court cases are indeed usually settled out of court after much time and resources have been dissipated in court hearings. Thus, according to him the Multi Door Court makes it easier for cases can easily be settled and amicably as well within weeks and with a pittance as low as #5,000.
“We are here to create awareness on the advantages, cases can easily be settled. Even though lawyers can come in but at least litigants themselves are there to talk, there is no formality. This is an informal setting where everybody seats down, say their own mind and come to a settlement. Everyone wins. But we need the awareness of the people.”
He further noted that the MDC Board is being headed by a retired Judge and they have infact received referred cases from the Magistrate Courts. “Last year, we had about 164 cases we were able to settle 90% of the cases, you can imagine if it was litigation. But thank God for this idea. The government has embraced, Governor Ajimobi has embraced it. We have the building and all the necessary facilities. But we need our people to come forward.”
Mrs Anuolu Gade reiterated that the Oyo state Multi Door Court is Court connected. This means that the “court also assists us in enforcing agreement. When we conclude each case we draw out terms of settlement, the ADR Judges endorses it. In that way, when we have some respondents that default, they can enforce it just like a court judgment.”
People need to be aware of the advantages of the opportunity as compared with the conventional court system. They however reiterate that the area of focus and operation is on civil matters and not criminal matters.
