NIGERIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Olasupo Shasore, Ibukun Fasoro, Tochukwu Amaefule and Michael Chukwu, Africa Law Practice NG & Company
Africa Law Practice NG & Company 15 Military Street Onikan Lagos Nigeria
Tel: +234 20 1700 257 0 Email: alp@alp.company Web: alp.company
1. General 1.1 Prevalence of Arbitration Prevalence and Use of International Arbitration in Nigeria International arbitration has become an increasingly prominent method of resolving commercial disputes involving Nigerian parties, particularly where foreign investors, multinational corporations or cross-border commercial arrangements are involved. Historically, litigation before Nigerian courts was the primary route for dispute resolution, but there has been a marked shift in practice – driven by the need for neutrality, commercial confidentiality, swiftness in dispute reso - lution and the enforceability of arbitral awards under international instruments such as the New York Con - vention (to which Nigeria has been a party since 1970). Domestic parties frequently agree to resolve dis - putes by international arbitration when entering into contracts with foreign counterparties, particularly in sectors like energy, infrastructure, construction, and maritime. The arbitration clauses often provide for a foreign seat (commonly London, Paris, Singapore or Dubai) and application of established institutional rules (such as ICC, LCIA or UNCITRAL). The choice of an offshore seat is typically to assure foreign investors of neutrality and efficiency. In practice, international arbitration appears in Nigeria in several ways: • It is frequently included in contracts by Nigerian companies entering into joint ventures, oil and gas, engineering, procurement and construction
contracts, or trade agreements with foreign coun - terparties. • Parties regularly seek to enforce foreign arbitral awards against assets located in Nigeria. • Nigeria is also occasionally chosen as the seat of arbitration, although London, Paris and Dubai remain popular alternatives, especially when for - eign investors are involved. While Nigerian law recognises and supports arbitra - tion, litigation remains popular – especially for disputes that are wholly domestic in nature or where parties prefer the authority and familiarity of the courts. That said, the recently enacted Arbitration and Mediation Act, 2023 (“AMA” or the “2023 Act”) has enhanced confidence in Nigeria as a potential seat of arbitration by modernising the legal framework, expressly recog - nising emergency arbitrators and interim measures, and codifying the presumption of arbitral autonomy. Overall, international arbitration is most commonly seen in Nigeria either as a contractually chosen meth - od of dispute resolution in cross-border transactions or in the context of recognising and enforcing foreign arbitral awards. Though there is growing interest in hosting arbitrations seated in Nigeria, the majority of truly “international” cases involving Nigerian parties still tend to be seated abroad. 1.2 Key Industries Industries Driving International Arbitration Activity in Nigeria In recent years, the most significant international arbi - tration activity in Nigeria has come from the energy and natural resources sector, especially oil and gas. This is hardly surprising given Nigeria’s status as one
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