By Ebere Agozie
Mrs Ijeoma Nwafor, the Country Representative of The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (Hill) says the institute’s dispute justice resolution guidelines will help resolve family and land disputes across the nation.
Nwafor, who made on Wednesday in Abuja, said Hill is collaborating with state governments to ensure access to justice for everyone.
She said the guidelines aim to foster peaceful dispute resolution through effective communication and mediation, reducing the reliance on conventional courts.
“Many lack access to justice and the formal justice system isn’t doing enough, therefore, there’s a need for the guidelines to breach the gap.
“Recently, we were at Ogun state to unveil the guidelines which were borne out of the concern that many people lack access to justice due to many reasons.
“It is a product of extensive research and stakeholder engagement and incorporated inputs from 1,490 participants, including experts in psychology, communication, criminology, and conflict resolution.
“They were produced with practical inputs from justice stakeholders to reduce the burden on the conventional courts’’.
The country rep. said the documents provide opportunities for citizens to get justice, particularly in rural areas, through mediation and negotiation.
“Our mission is to help 150 million people prevent or resolve their most pressing justice problems by 2030.
“The Ogun state government ministry of justice has reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to ensuring speedy justice for all citizens.
“They also said that recommendations from our training had assisted them in the successful settlement of numerous family and land disputes in the state.
“They expressed their willingness to translate the knowledge gained into action to enhance peaceful coexistence and promote effective dispute resolution mechanisms among Ogun people’’.
Nwafor reiterated that Hill is committed to people-centred justice which is affordable, accessible, and easy to understand and that delivers what people need.
“We will continue to develop a data-driven, evidence-based, and innovation-focused way of working, focused on system change to ensure better delivery of justice services for more people.
