CJN warns lawyers, litigants against forged court documents as S’Court launches digital filing system

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has warned that lawyers and litigants who upload forged, altered, or unauthorised documents to the Supreme Court’s new electronic case management platform will face legal, regulatory, and disciplinary sanctions, as she disclosed that the apex court is currently reviewing pending appeals and registry records to root out irregularities.

The warning came as the CJN formally launched the Nigerian Case Management System (NCMS) in Abuja yesterday, alongside new Practice Directions making the electronic upload of court processes and appeal records mandatory.

She described the reform as a step toward a fully digitised Supreme Court, one she said Nigeria’s judiciary could not afford to be left behind on.

Beyond the launch, Justice Kekere-Ekun’s disclosure of an active verification exercise into registry records signals that document integrity concerns rather than efficiency alone are driving the reform.

She said the digital system would create a secure repository and audit trail designed to curb unauthorised alterations, loss, or manipulation of court records, addressing vulnerabilities in the paper-based system the NCMS is replacing.

Implementation of the system, according to her, will roll out in phases. The first covers appeals scheduled for hearing between September and December 2026, requiring counsel to upload documents within timelines set by the new Practice Directions, before expanding quarterly to cover all pending appeals.

The second phase will introduce full electronic filing, allowing lawyers and litigants to initiate and manage appeals digitally.

Justice Kashim Zannah, Chief Judge of Borno State and chairman of the Judicial Information Technology Policy Committee, called the launch a historic milestone, describing the NCMS as a platform that would unify case movement from High Courts, the National Industrial Court, and the Sharia and Customary Courts of Appeal through to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court — eliminating delays and record losses tied to the paper-based system.