"X-Raying Arbitral Procedures and Practice under the Ogba Customary Law
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Date
2020-01
Journal Title
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Publisher
Department of Jurisprudence and Private Law, Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State
Abstract
The Ogba people of Rivers State in the Niger Delta of Nigeria have over the years evolved different strategies for ensuring peaceful co-existence with each other. The Ogba customary law only guides the Ogba people of Rivers State in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It is trite that long before disputes between parties snowball into various court cases they may have been exposed intentionally or otherwise to some forms of arbitral procedures. Arbitration is a viable alternative to litigation in resolving conflicts and disputes between individuals and even groups. The question of whether or not this attempt at resolving issues informally without recourse to law courts are actually concluded and resolutions adhered to; or whether the procedures were actually objective and just are still subjects of debate. They have evolved customary rules engendering unity, forging and maintaining bonds of unity which distinguish them from other groups. What are these strategies? Have they been successful; should they be improved upon and if so, in what areas; are they known and deployable to other regions or should they be jettisoned? This paper x-rays arbitral procedures and practices under the Ogba customary law. It attempts to bring to the fore the some subterranean moves at dispute settlement by different sections of the customary community which are relatively successful; invariably impacting positively on the judicial system which becomes free of such matters amicably resolved upon the intervention of persons not necessarily trained to carry out such functions.
The Ogba people of Rivers State in the Niger Delta of Nigeria have over the years evolved different strategies for ensuring peaceful co-existence with each other. The Ogba customary law only guides the Ogba people of Rivers State in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It is trite that long before disputes between parties snowball into various court cases they may have been exposed intentionally or otherwise to some forms of arbitral procedures. Arbitration is a viable alternative to litigation in resolving conflicts and disputes between individuals and even groups. The question of whether or not this attempt at resolving issues informally without recourse to law courts are actually concluded and resolutions adhered to; or whether the procedures were actually objective and just are still subjects of debate. They have evolved customary rules engendering unity, forging and maintaining bonds of unity which distinguish them from other groups. What are these strategies? Have they been successful; should they be improved upon and if so, in what areas; are they known and deployable to other regions or should they be jettisoned? This paper x-rays arbitral procedures and practices under the Ogba customary law. It attempts to bring to the fore the some subterranean moves at dispute settlement by different sections of the customary community which are relatively successful; invariably impacting positively on the judicial system which becomes free of such matters amicably resolved upon the intervention of persons not necessarily trained to carry out such functions.
The Ogba people of Rivers State in the Niger Delta of Nigeria have over the years evolved different strategies for ensuring peaceful co-existence with each other. The Ogba customary law only guides the Ogba people of Rivers State in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It is trite that long before disputes between parties snowball into various court cases they may have been exposed intentionally or otherwise to some forms of arbitral procedures. Arbitration is a viable alternative to litigation in resolving conflicts and disputes between individuals and even groups. The question of whether or not this attempt at resolving issues informally without recourse to law courts are actually concluded and resolutions adhered to; or whether the procedures were actually objective and just are still subjects of debate. They have evolved customary rules engendering unity, forging and maintaining bonds of unity which distinguish them from other groups. What are these strategies? Have they been successful; should they be improved upon and if so, in what areas; are they known and deployable to other regions or should they be jettisoned? This paper x-rays arbitral procedures and practices under the Ogba customary law. It attempts to bring to the fore the some subterranean moves at dispute settlement by different sections of the customary community which are relatively successful; invariably impacting positively on the judicial system which becomes free of such matters amicably resolved upon the intervention of persons not necessarily trained to carry out such functions.
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Keywords
Arbitral Procedures, Customary law, Customary Arbitration, Ogba People, Niger Delta., Arbitral Procedures, Customary law, Customary Arbitration, Ogba People, Niger Delta.
Citation
Ife Juris Review, Journal of Contemporary Legal and Allied Issues, (IFJR) Part 1, 263-276.