From Gabriel Dike
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, yesterday explained why the Nigerian judiciary system must embrace digital technology in delivering judgments and handling other legal issues.
Justice Kekere-Ekun spoke at the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos Special Public Lecture, titled: “Justice in the Digital Age: Leveraging Technology for an Efficient and Accessible Judiciary in Nigeria.”
She warned that for the judiciary to remain relevant, respected, and responsive, the court must evolve.
The CJN insisted that the court must shed layers of inefficiency that distance it from the people and embrace innovations that bring justice closer to the doorstep of every Nigerian.
Kekere-Ekun pledged to continue to work with stakeholders, within and beyond the judiciary, to ensure that the courts are not left behind in the digital revolution.
She assured that the courts would lead from the front, building a judiciary that is not only fit for the future but worthy of the trust and aspirations of every Nigerian.
The CJN added: “My vision is for a judiciary that upholds its sacred mandate with dignity, but also evolves with the demands of a rapidly changing society.
“A judiciary that is not left behind by the digital wave sweeping across sectors, but one that leads by example in using technology to serve the people better.”
In his speech, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, also tasked the judiciary to embrace digital technology for easy delivery of judgments.
Sanwo-Olu said the state judiciary is ready to lead the transformation of the legal profession in the country.
He explained that the state judiciary carried out reforms to ensure smooth operation of the legal system.
The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of UNILAG, Chief Wole Olanipekun, acknowledged that the CJN did justice to the topic and described the lecture as a blueprint for the judiciary system.
He disclosed that judges have become endangered species because of the manual volume of work they handle and advised lawyers not to join politicians to kill the legal profession.
Chairman of the lecture, Professor Ayodeji Oyebode, said unlike other developed countries, the judiciary system in Nigeria is behind in the application of digital technology.
Oyebode said law and technology are interwoven, thus judges and lawyers must embrace digital technology to ease their judicial duties.
In her remarks, UNILAG Vice Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, described the lecture as timely and stressed the need for the judiciary to embrace digital innovations.