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Tayo Olanipekun
The Lagos State government has said while brokering peace over civil disputes among residents of the state, it has recovered a total of N829.110m for parties involved, through mediation, in the first eight months of this year.
The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, disclosed this on Wednesday during the commemoration of this year’s United Nations International Day of Peace, observed on September 21 annually.
The theme for this year’s event is, “Right to Peace: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70.”
Kazeem, represented by the Solicitor-General, Mrs. Funlola Odunlami, said issues which dominated the mediation were that of landlords and tenants.
He said the Citizens Mediation Centre (CMC), registered 33, 670 matters in the period under review, adding that out of this, 18, 982 matters were mediated and resolved, while 4,701 matters were adjourned and referred to other government agencies for further processing.
He said the CMC was an initiative of the state government to serve as a non adversarial dispute resolution centre through the use of mediation mechanism in “dispensing justice fairly, speedily and without discrimination, fear or favour between disputing residents.”
According to him, the Centre has 18 units spread across the state and it is the thrust of the government to ensure that a unit is established in all councils.
He said the forthcoming International Day of Peace coincided with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the UN, and that it aims to highlight the importance of all segments of society to work together to strive for peace and respect for human rights.
Kazeem noted that the sustenance of human rights would eradicate acrimony and entrench self love and mutual respect among citizens.
He said that the government had put in place mechanisms that would foster development and promote economic activities by instituting agencies that will provide free service for protecting fundamental rights of residents.
He, however, encouraged residents to avail themselves of the free legal services offered by the CMC in amicably resolving all disputes as they may arise.
