Lagos (Nigeria), Aug 16 (IANS): Nigeria will soon have a Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) to avoid taking sports cases to regular courts, Minister of Sports Tammy Danagogo, said.

The sports chief told reporters in the nation's capital Abuja Friday that when managing a system it was important to have an avenue to seek redress in case of disagreement, reports Xinhua.

"But when there is disagreement and we don't have a CAS in Nigeria where they can seek redress nearby, that is why you see them always going to regular court," he added.

"Now, we want to stem that trend by making sure that a viable CAS is set up, so that whenever there are disputes in sports and cases are taken there, we will obey whatever the outcome is," he said.

The CAS is an institution, independent of any sports organisation, which provides services in order to facilitate the settlement of sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation.

This is done by means of procedural rules adapted to the specific needs of the sports world.

The absence of CAS in Nigeria led to a crisis within Nigerian football being referred to a regular court in the central north city of Jos.

This led to Danagogo obeying the court order to sack the chairman of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Aminu Maigari, and a threatened ban from FIFA for government interference.