Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has disclosed that the federal government is reviewing Nigeria’s national arbitration policy as part of a comprehensive effort to make the country a preferred seat for international commercial arbitration, capable of attracting disputes not only from within Africa but from parties in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and other regions of the world.

Fagbemi, represented at the 10th ICC Africa Conference on International Arbitration in Lagos by former Nigerian Bar Association President Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, said a committee chaired by Maikyau had been constituted to review Nigeria’s national arbitration policy and examine implementation of the Arbitration and Mediation Act, identifying areas requiring reform that would strengthen investor confidence and reinforce Nigeria’s reputation as an arbitration-friendly jurisdiction.

He assured delegates that recommendations and resolutions from the conference would receive serious consideration from his office.

Chair of ICC Africa Dorothy Ufeme Ufot, SAN, reflecting on a decade of the conference, described it as one of the continent’s most influential forums for advancing international arbitration and dispute resolution. She said the conference had amplified Africa’s voice within the global dispute resolution community while fostering collaboration among legal practitioners, businesses, arbitral institutions, and policymakers.

Nigerian Bar Association President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, said Africa had made remarkable progress in legal education and arbitration but that many commercial disputes arising from transactions conducted within the continent were still resolved outside it, depriving Africa of the ability to shape global conversations on dispute resolution. He urged stakeholders to promote Africa as a credible destination for resolving commercial disputes rather than merely a source of them, arguing that the continent possessed the expertise, institutions, and human resources required to handle complex international commercial cases.