Nigeria

The structure of courts in Nigeria overseeing commercial claims is set out below.

The superior courts of record

These are established by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Constitution) and they are:

• The Federal High Court (FHC). This court has exclusive jurisdiction over specified claims relating to, amongst others, the revenue of the Federal Government, taxation, copyright, bankruptcy, insolvency, intellectual property, admiralty, and matters relating to the operation and management of companies (section 251, Constitution).
• The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN). This court has exclusive jurisdiction over labour and employment matters (section 254A, Constitution).
• The high courts. Each of the 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has a high court with jurisdiction over both criminal and civil matters arising within its state (sections 257 and 271, Constitution). These high courts have residual jurisdiction to hear and determine any civil action in which the existence or extent of a legal right, power, duty, liability, privilege, interest, obligation, or claim is in issue.

There is no financial limit on claims that these superior courts can hear and determine, provided that the subject-matter of the claim falls within the jurisdiction of the specific superior court.

Specialist courts and tribunals

These include:

• the Tax Appeal Tribunal, which adjudicates on tax disputes arising from the application of the various tax laws;
• the Investments and Securities Tribunal, which hears and determines capital markets and investments disputes; and
• the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal, which is vested with powers to:
  • adjudicate on matters relating to restrictive agreements, price fixing, abuse of dominant position and monopolies; and
  • hear appeals arising from the decisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

The appellate courts

These are:

• The Court of Appeal. This court hears appeals from various courts including the FHC, the NICN, the High Court of the FCT, and the high courts of the states.
• The Supreme Court. This is the final appellate court in Nigeria and hears appeals from the Court of Appeal and its decisions are final and binding on all other courts in Nigeria.

Both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal also exercise original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court exercises original jurisdiction in respect of disputes between the federation and state(s), among the states, between the National Assembly and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and between the State Houses of Assembly and states, while the Court of Appeal exercises its original jurisdiction in respect of presidential election petitions.

The inferior state courts

Each state is also empowered to establish inferior courts such as magistrates’ courts (also known as district courts in the northern part of Nigeria). These inferior courts, not established under the Constitution but established by statutes, exercise summary jurisdiction. There are financial limits on civil claims that can be brought before the magistrates’/district courts. For example, the Magistrates’ Court of Lagos State cannot hear any claim for an amount exceeding NGN10 million (section 28, Magistrates’ Court Law of Lagos State, 2009). Claims for a higher value must be instituted in the High Court of the relevant state. Appeals from the magistrates’/district courts lie to the high court in the same state.

Civil procedure in Nigerian courts is governed essentially by the civil procedure rules of the relevant court, along with any special rules applicable to particular types of proceedings. Although each high court has its own civil procedure rules, procedural rules are largely the same across the various high courts in Nigeria. In Lagos State, the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019 (“Lagos Rules”) apply. In the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2025 apply. In the FHC, the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019 (“FHC Rules”) apply, and in the NICN, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2017 apply.

Further, there are action-specific procedural rules that govern some actions to which they apply, in addition to the aforementioned civil procedure rules applicable to the relevant courts in which those actions are filed. For instance, the Admiralty Jurisdiction Procedure Rules, 2011 contain provisions that apply to admiralty claims filed at the FHC. Also, the Federal High Court (Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON)) Rules, 2018 apply to claims involving AMCON.

Certain statutes and court rules require plaintiffs to take certain steps before commencing actions in court. For example, actions cannot be commenced against certain statutory bodies unless a pre-action notice has been issued and served on those statutory bodies. For example, pre-action notices must be issued and served on the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (see section 307(2), Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 and section 17, Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020).

Further, the civil procedure rules of many high courts require litigants to ensure that they have explored settlement outside of the courts before filing an action in court. The high courts may not accept an originating process for filing unless it is accompanied by either a Pre-Action Protocol form or a pre-action counselling certificate stating steps taken to amicably resolve the dispute.

For example, the Lagos Rules require that a party who wishes to commence an action must first comply with a procedure known as the Pre-Action Protocol. Essentially, the Pre-Action Protocol is a formal procedure which directs an attempt at amicable settlement of a dispute, before resorting to litigation. By the Lagos Rules, a prospective claimant who wishes to commence an action must first send a memorandum of claim to the prospective defendant, stating his claims, and affording the latter an opportunity at settlement. When this attempt has failed, the claimant may then file the necessary originating documents in court, with a statement of compliance with the Pre-Action Protocol and accompanying documents. A prospective claimant who resorts to litigation without complying with this procedure may have his action struck out for non-compliance.

The most common alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods used to resolve commercial disputes in Nigeria are mediation, adjudication, expert determination, and arbitration.

In the high courts it takes an average of one year and six months for court proceedings to reach the trial stage. However, in inferior courts like the magistrates courts, it takes an average of three to six months.

In most states, the parties must disclose and submit with their pleadings copies of every document they intend to rely on at the trial (Order 5, rule 1(2)(d) and Order 19, rule 1(a), Lagos Rules; Order 3, rule 3(1)(b) and Order 13, rule 35(1)(b), FHC Rules; and Order 2, rule 2(2)(d), High Court of FCT Rules). At the stage of filing pleadings, parties do not need to disclose documents they do not intend to rely on.

However, if the other party feels that there has been non-disclosure of material documents, they may compel the disclosure of those documents (Order 29, rule 6(1–4), Lagos Rules; Order 43, rule 8(1–4), FHC Rules; and Order 40, rule 13, High Court of FCT Rules). A party can also apply for an order requiring a non-party person to appear in court and provide certain documents in their possession (Order 36, rule 20, Lagos Rules; Order 43, rule 8(1–4), FHC Rules; and Order 40, rule 13, High Court of FCT Rules).

Persons listed as witnesses in a matter commenced by writ of summons must attend court during the trial to adopt their witness statements on oath and be cross-examined by the other party on the content of their witness statements. Persons not listed as witnesses may also be required by subpoena to attend court to testify and be cross-examined. However, in actions commenced by originating summons and originating motions where affidavit evidence is used, no oral evidence is given and the deponents of the affidavits are usually not cross-examined. However, oral evidence can sometimes be given in proceedings conducted by affidavit evidence to resolve conflicts in affidavit evidence.

Costs are awarded at the discretion of the court. The general principle in the award of costs is that “costs follow events”. Thus, an unsuccessful party bears the costs of the action. However, the award of costs is to indemnify the successful party for the costs of the action, and not to punish the losing party. The amounts of costs awarded are usually not exorbitant.

There are several interim remedies available in commercial litigation. The most common ones are the orders of interim injunction, Mareva injunction, Anton Piller injunction and interlocutory injunction. Orders of interim injunction, Mareva injunction and Anton Piller are usually granted without hearing the other party to the dispute while the orders of interlocutory injunction are granted after hearing both sides of disputes.

Nigerian courts lean in favour of arbitration. When a party to a dispute which is subject to an arbitration agreement commences an action in court without first resorting to arbitration, the courts usually grant a stay of proceedings pending arbitration (see section 5, Arbitration and Mediation Act, 2023). The arbitration law applicable in Nigeria is the Arbitration and Mediation Act, 2023 and it is based largely on the UNCITRAL Model Law. There are also some statutes on arbitration in some states in the Federation; for example, the Lagos State Arbitration Law, 2009.

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, arbitral tribunals are empowered to grant interim reliefs requiring a party to maintain or restore status quo, take or refrain from taking actions that may cause harm to the arbitral process, provide means of preserving assets from which the arbitral award may be satisfied, preserve any evidence which may be relevant to the dispute or preserve the subject-matter of the arbitration itself (see section 20, Arbitration and Mediation Act, 2023 (AMA)).

Arbitral awards in Nigeria are final, and no appeal lies against them. However, arbitral awards may be challenged in court through an application for setting aside or may be subject to a review process (section 55(1), AMA). The grounds for setting aside arbitral awards are limited and include:

• the legal incapacity of a party;
• invalidity of the arbitration agreement;
• the lack of proper notice of the arbitrator’s appointment or of the proceedings or inability of a party to present its case;
• the award dealt with disputes not contemplated in the arbitration agreement or terms of submission;
• the award addressing matters beyond the scope of submission;
• the composition of the tribunal, or arbitral procedure not in accordance with the parties’ agreement or the Act;
• non-arbitrability of the subject-matter; and
• award contrary to the public policy of Nigeria.

(See section 55(3), AMA.)

The AMA has recently introduced a novel mechanism known as the Award Review Tribunal (ART) (section 56, AMA). An award can only be referred for a review by the ART where parties had previously provided for such review in the arbitration agreement. A request for a review can only be submitted on the grounds stated in section 55(3) of the AMA. These are the same grounds as those specified in Article V of the New York Convention. Hence, the ART does not review the factual basis or merits of the award. Once an award has been reviewed and affirmed by the ART, it can only be set aside by the court on grounds of public policy or arbitrability (section 56(8) and (9), AMA).

Nigeria is a party to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention) (which has been domesticated and incorporated into the AMA) and the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID).

Nigeria is, however, not party to any international convention on enforcement of judgments.

All judgments of Nigerian courts are enforceable in Nigeria. However, with regards to foreign judgments, only monetary judgments are enforceable in Nigeria. These judgments must:

• have been delivered by a superior court in the originating country;
• be final and conclusive;
• have been delivered within six years of application for enforcement; and
• be for a definite sum of money and registered in Nigeria.

(See section 3(2) of the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act, 1961.)

Foreign judgments may be registered in Nigeria by filing in any high court in Nigeria an ex parte application alongside an affidavit exhibiting the certified true copy of the judgment and deposing to the fact that such judgment is registrable in Nigeria.

In the case of arbitral awards, the application for the recognition and enforcement of an award is usually made on notice and, unless the court orders otherwise, be served on the defendant within one month from the date of issue. The party seeking recognition and enforcement of an award shall exhibit in its application:

• the original or certified true copy of the award;
• the original or certified true copy of the arbitration agreement; and
• where the award or arbitration agreement is not in English language, a certified translation into English language.

(See section 57, AMA.)

ICSID awards are registered by filing a certified copy of the award by the ICSID Secretary-General at the Supreme Court of Nigeria (see section 1, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (Enforcement of Awards) Act, 1967).

A judgment or award once registered or recognised in Nigeria, has the same force of law as a judgment of the court where it is registered. Such a judgment or award may be enforced or executed in any of the following ways: garnishee proceedings; writs of possession; sequestration; or Fieri Facias (fi fa) (see sections 20, 24, 25, 44, 45, 46, 55, 83–92, Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, 1945, and Orders 5, 6, 8 and 9, Judgment Enforcement Rules, 1945).

While the foregoing are applicable for arbitral awards, since only monetary foreign judgments are enforceable in Nigeria, the only available methods of execution for judgments are by garnishee proceedings and writs of fi fa and possession (see sections 20, 21, and 83, Sheriffs and Civil Process Act).

A party seeking enforcement of a foreign award or money judgment may approach a Nigerian court for grant of orders of interim injunctions pending the conclusion of enforcement proceedings. These injunctions may be by way of Mareva or preservation orders (Orders 26, 28, 30, Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019). However, once the judgment authorising enforcement is delivered, these remedies cease to apply.

Proceeding on the assumptions outlined in the Model Answer, would a court in this jurisdiction recognise and enforce the arbitral award under the New York Convention?

In particular:

• Does the award fall within the scope of Article V(1) of the Convention, or would any of the grounds in Article V(1) justify refusal on the assumed facts?
• Is the subject matter of the dispute capable of settlement by arbitration under domestic law for the purposes of Article V(2)(a)?
• Would recognition or enforcement of the award be contrary to public policy within the meaning of Article V(2)(b)?

Response

Based on the assumed facts, the award will be recognized and enforced in Nigeria as it does not fall within any of the grounds in Article V of the New York Convention. There is nothing that may justify a refusal of enforcement in this case.

The subject-matter of the arbitration is capable of settlement by arbitration. It is a mere contractual dispute relating to payment of money. The dispute is triable civilly and can, under Nigerian law, be resolved by arbitration. See United World Ltd. v. MTS Ltd. (1998) 10 NWLR (Pt. 568) 106.

Enforcement of the award would not be contrary to public policy under Nigerian law as Nigerian courts interpret public policy narrowly. A party who wishes to resist the enforcement of an award on grounds of public policy must establish that the award is injurious to the public interest or contrary to a mandatory law in Nigeria. See Agro-Allied Development Enterprises Limited v. United Shipping Trading Co. Inc. (2010) 9 NWLR (Pt. 1252) 258; and Limak Yatirim, Enerji Uretim Isletme Hizmetleri Ve Insaat A.S. et al. v. Sahelian Energy & Integrated Services Ltd. (2021) LPELR-58182(CA). Based on the assumed facts, both the governing law and the law of the seat recognise non-payment of contractual obligation as a dispute capable of resolution by arbitration. Further, the arbitral tribunal did not review the judgment or re-litigate the underlying merits but gave effect to the contractual obligation arising upon non-payment, which was in any event consistent with the underlying judgment. The award is neither injurious to the public interest nor contrary to law in Nigeria and will therefore be enforced in Nigeria.