By: Opeyemi Oladele

Ogun State Government has called on members of the public to take advantage of its Multi-Door Court House which uses alternative means to resolve disputes for faster, cost-effective and user-friendly access to justice. 

The Chairman, Ogun State Multi-Door Court (OMDC), Justice Solomon Olugbemi (Rtd.) made the call at a press conference that marked the end of the Multi-Door Court House Settlement Week for year 2022.

Justice Olugbemi said the Court was a connected organisation set up in the year 2017 to settle disputes among the people through negotiation, mediation, arbitration and conciliation, to ensure prompt justice delivery, adding that the just concluded Week was the first of its kind, aimed to sensitise the general public on the relevance of the court, among other judicial activities.

The Chairman stated that the OMDC was a one-stop shop for dispute resolution where the Dispute Resolution Officer (DRO) recommended a suitable 'door' through which parties could access a resolution of conflict after addressing disputes.

Olugbemi said "the Multi-Door Court House started with only one centre, presently, there are five centres situated in Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu, Ota and Igbesa", revealing that different cases such as Contract, Bridge of Agreement, Assault and many more had been resolved since inception.

In his contribution, the President, Mediation Training Institute, Amb. Segun Ogunyannwo said judgment would be delivered at the Multi-Door Court while agreement between parties could be brought for enforcement, pointing out that Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR) options were provided to foster fast alternative means to resolve disputes without going to a conventional court.