An enforceable contract is a written or oral agreement that can be imposed in a court of law. If the law permits enforcement of a contract, execution of an agreement is the obligation of the assenting parties. Terms may not be violated or breached without causing the contract to void.

There are indications that may be used to measure the amount of time and money spent on contract enforcement.
According to the World Bank’s 2020 study, “it is noted that it is measured by the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local first-instance court, and the quality of Judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy had adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and efficiency in the court system.”

Enforcing Contracts in Nigeria

It’s impossible to tell whether or not law courts adhere to jurisdictional agreements. Jurisdiction agreements are executed by law courts in theory, and occasionally observed in practice. 

Ease of Contract Enforcement

Nigeria’s Doing Business score improved by 3.4 points in the World Bank’s 2020 report. Contract enforcement in Nigeria has become easier after the establishment of a pretrial conference as part of the case management strategies employed in law court.

The regulatory reforms were implemented in Lagos and Kano State. The processing time in Lagos is 447 days, and the charge is 42.0 percent of the entire claim value.

It takes 476 days in Kano State, with a processing charge of 28.4 percent of the entire claim value. Kano has also made it easy to start a business by eliminating the need for on-site inspections for business premises registration.

What’s the Way Forward?

When it comes to Ease of Doing Business, the country’s position has improved slightly. However, this is only applicable to two of the thirty six states: Kano and Lagos. When we consider the big picture, this is disappointing. As a result, these states experience an influx of corporate activity while overlooking the state of affairs in others. It is unsurprising that the country’s inequality gap is wide and that there is no overall development.

Furthermore, Nigeria’s unstable and unbalanced jurisdiction law may deter international investors from investing in the country. Investors are more interested in economies with contract enforcement and effective dispute resolution processes.

AFEEDi and numerous private organizations have long advocated in this respect, but there is a limit to how far they can go given the large population, limited funds, and unfortunately, an uncooperative and corrupt government. Entrepreneurs and economic growth both benefit from operating in a secure business environment and hence the Nigerian government must adopt policies that assure the effectiveness of the Judiciary.

Fostering  private  resolution  through  arbitration,  mediation,  or  conciliation  will go a long way to improve the contracting  environment. When the law courts are overburdened with cases, for example, an Alternative Dispute Resolution is a great option to explore.

There is a need to reduce government regulations dictating  the  procedures  that  must  be  followed  and who  can  serve  as  an  arbitrator or  mediator. This will go a long way to encourage  private  dispute  resolution  mechanisms and increase transparency. Also, Case flow throughout the judiciary should be examined on a regular basis in order to objectively assess the process and provide improvements where necessary.

These reforms are critical in the continual effort to protect human rights and promote a business-enabling environment.