Funmi Roberts

Funmi was the Chairman of the National Committee that drafted and ensured the passage of Nigeria’s new Arbitration and Mediation Act, 2023 which was signed into law by the former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 26th May, 2023. A member of several dispute resolution panels, including the United Nations Ombudsman Global Panel of Mediators, Africa Regional Mediator for the World Bank Group till July, 2025, and former member of the Nigerian Electricity Dispute Resolution Panel, amongst others, Funmi is also one of Nigeria’s representative on the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague, and convener of the Annual Funmi Roberts Arbitration Essay Competition for students of the Faculty of Law of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Apart from mediation training with CEDR, Funmi offers consultations with other training organisations and is a member of the Mediation Thought leadership of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K. After undertaking several trainings, she can now competently teach and also undertake online/virtual dispute resolution using different platforms such as CREK, Zoom, Big Blue Button, Teams, and GoToMeeting. It is her love for mediation and encouraging younger mediators that in 2021 led to the founding of Africa ADR Organisation, which facilitated the training, coaching and participation of students of 3 universities in Nigeria at the ICC Mediation Competition, 2022.