Ondo Multi-door Courthouse stakeholders engagement holds in Akoko as CJ promises ADR center

By Steve Ovirih.

In its bid to expand the reach of Alternative Dispute Resolution,ADR channel across Ondo State, the Ondo State Judiciary has continued to support the State Multi-door Courthouse activities by propagating the advantages of the agency to the people in the grassroots of the Sunshine State. On Thursday, 23rd July, exactly four months after a stakeholders engagement held at Ore in Odigbo Local Govt, another massive engagement was hosted at Ugbe Akoko where community stakeholders were briefed on the need to cultivate the habit of patronizing the Multi-door Door Courtroom rather than investing time, money and sweat in long procedural litigation in the conventional courts.

While declaring the stakeholders engagement opened, the Chief Judge of Ondo State, His Lordship, Justice Ayedun Oluwasegun Odusola noted that bringing justice to the people is one of the responsibilities of the Judiciary, stressing that not every dispute requires the court for adjudication hence the Alternative Dispute Resolution pathway to achieving justice. He said matters like family dispute, commercial transaction gone awry, neighborhood disagreement and sundry civil matters are opened for amicable resolution at the Multi-door Courthouse at a fast pace and at a cost that is very pocket friendly, adding that the engagement is an eye opener for the people and a call for them to take advantage of the Courthouse to get issues resolved in manners that make parties to dispute see eye to eye when matters get resolved.

“When commerce expands, investors will seek jurisdiction where dispute can be amicably resolved.The route to go therefore is the Multi-door Courthouse.

“ADR is an innovation of Ondo State Judiciary which is poised to aid the administration of justice and Justice should not be measured by distance but by easy accessibility by all and sundry. It is instructive that ADR does not compete with the court but to consolidate the conventional court by easing the judicial process of long standing cases,” Justice Odusola reiterated.

Earlier, The Director -General, Ondo State Multi-door Courthouse, Dr.Dickson Ogunfuyi in his welcome address had stressed that the meeting was not just another government program but more importantly a conversation with the people, noting that the belief of Ondo State Multi-door Courthouse is that the best way to strengthen access to justice is to sit with the people,listen to them, understand their challenges and work together to find lasting solutions. “Every day disputes arise in our homes, markets,schools, communities, places of worship and businesses.Farmers disagree over land boundaries and families quarrel over inheritance.Business partners fall out over unpaid debts.Landlords and tenants have disagreements while cooperative societies face internal conflict.

“Transport operators have disputes while employers and employees misunderstand one another.Sometines these disputes become so serious that relationships are destroyed, businesses collapse, communities become divided and years are spent in court,” DG Multi -door stressed.

Dr.Ogunfuyi added that the essence of the Ondo State Multi-door Courthouse is to aid the quick resolution of conflicts using the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism of mediation, conciliation, arbitration and negotiation which abridge long and expensive court proceedings.

In his good will address, host monarch, the Olugbe of Ugbe Akoko,Oba Ilufemiloye thanked the Ondo State Chief Judge and the entire Judiciary for deeming it fit to take the stakeholders engagement to his domain while seeking the cooperation of members of his community for the smooth take off of the ADR chanel in Akoko land.

During the stakeholders engagement different association including NBA Ikere branch, Akoko cooperative society, NURTW, business stakeholders of Ikere, Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators and others had their representatives present their respective standpoints and areas they believe the Multi-door Courthouse should cover in Akoko land. ADR experts and judges, Hon.Justice (Prof.) Alero Akeredolu and Hon.Justice Akinwumi offered expert opinion on the concerns raised.

Justice Akinwumi admitted that prior to ADR, there had been medium of resolving conflicts such as ‘Labe odan’, ‘Idi aba’ and town square peace meeting, then came the court but with court proceedings the end hardly breed friendship. “Now we have ADR which has the binding force of the law and the fees required to approach Multiple -door courthouse is very affordable,charging the people of Akoko to take advantage of this service to help resolve a good number of their everyday civil cases.

Hon.Justice Prof.Alero Akeredolu in her own reaction maintained that in ADR channel there is no bias as everyone has right of unrestrained expression of their opinion on issues in dispute. “The ADR personnel are neutral in all matters and they are professional facilitators who do not take side.” While maintaining that there is no shortage of mediators at the Multi-door Courthouse, Prof.Akeredolu averred that not less than 38 cases that would have taken longer time to resolve in court had been dispensed with at the Ore Multi-door mediation center which was established in Ore after the April community engagement in Odigbo Local Govt area, adding that because it is a multi door conflict resolution approach, parties to dispute are at liberty to choose their preferred language medium for the sitting.

In her advice at the engagement, Hon.Justice Bolatito Ajibade of Ikare High Court admonished cooperative societies to have a counselling unit where members are enjoined to understand basic reason why Coop funds are loaned out, stressing that loan recovery challenges are better resolved using Multi -door courthouse than embarking on litigations that cost time and more fund that could be put into better uses within the credit and loaning template.

Ambassador Nelson Fadoju noted that both the Bible and Quran support peace through mediation, arbitration, negotiation and early dispute conciliation, maintaining that ADR helps to reduce the stress on the Distinguished members of the Bench.He charged counsels to encourage arbitration ahead of litigation.

The Onibaram of Ibaram Akoko,Oba Olusegun Atibioke said the Akoko people welcome ADR and the Multi-door Courthouse wholeheartedly. “This ADR approach will help us in the palace as we are already inundated with all manners of domestic cases from the mundane to the germane.”

While having an exclusive chat with the polity.net, the Ondo State Chief Judge, Justice Odusola assured that ADR will not affect the court room activities of counsels, rather it will consolidate the Justice system as cases that deserve alternative dispute resolution will be taken off the in-tray of judges and get accelerated hearing and resolution at the Multi-door Courthouse. Justice Odusola assured that a center will be located in the Akoko judicial division.

Also speaking on the fringe of the event with the polity.net, the Director-General, Ondo State Multi-door Courthouse, Dr.Dickson Ogunfuyi said the town hall meeting is part of plan to bring ADR close to the people of the Northern Senatorial District.”We recognize that not everyone can travel long distance to access dispute resolution services and Justice should not only be available in major towns, it should be available to every citizen regardless of where they live.

” Our desire is that whenever and wherever disputes arise in this part of the state, people will know that there is a trusted, professional and affordable institution where they can seek help before conflicts become more complicated,” Dr.Ogunfuyi stressed.