The Ogun State Bar and Bench Forum has organised a stakeholder’s public lecture aimed at educating staffers of the Judiciary on digitalisation that will improve efficiency, transparency and accountability in the judicial system.
The programme, 13th in its series, took place at the ceremonial court, judiciary complex, Kobape, Abeokuta with the theme: Digitalized Judiciary (AI, E- Affidavits, And Virtual Hearing) Prospects and Challenges, where the State Chief Judge, Honorable Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu, said that the subject matter was central to the present and future of justice delivery in the State.
Justice Dipeolu, noted that one of the key points of the present administration’s 7 points agenda was the establishment of a digitalised judiciary which had driven the Ogun State judiciary to be more accountable, efficient, laden with quantum amount of integrity in the delivery of justice through enforcement of rules and standards, while building an independent justice system that was committed to reforms and partnership with other stakeholders.
The Chief Judge, stressed that since her assumption as the State Chief Judge, she had been committed to ensuring that digitalisation was not merely discussed, but actively implemented across the judicial system in the State, adding that during the COVID - 19 lockdown in year 2020, Ogun State was among the first State in Nigeria to practice digital virtual courts proceedings at a time many institutions were uncertain, a move that was later guided by an amendment of the High Court and procedure Rules, 2024 and have since moved beyond rules to implementation which commenced with the High Courts and now operational in the Magistrate Courts through the Practice Direction of 2026.
She further revealed other milestones achieved that included E- Affidavits system which commenced on the 26th February, 2026, stressing that over 31,000 affidavits had been processed with approximately 4,500 users which comprised both legal practitioners and members of the public, with 25 E- Agents across the State, thus, activating closer assess to the people and making the process more efficient.
In his remarks, Chairman of the occasion, Honourable Justice Kashim Zannah, said if the last hope of the common man would not embrace technology then it could be disastrous for the society, disclosing that the judiciary could not continue to operate in disarray without technology as it would now hereafter make justice delivery a lot easier.
Justice Kashim, further explained that there was need for lawyers and judges to be abreast of social media manipulation of evidences as technology had advanced in every area of the judicial system, hence the need to meet global standards. He suggested laws were to be amended every 2 years and advocated for consistent training for lawyers and judges, while he admonished participants to be digitally literate, as no individual could claim of knowing it all.
In their separate goodwill messages, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Oluwasina Ogungbade SAN, averred the inevitability of technology as it demanded not merely intellectual engagement, but a readiness to act, adapt and lead, stating that Ogun State was in a pilot phase of the E-Affidavits programme, though, confronted with some teething problems, but had progressively come to grips with those challenges.
“ I have every confidence that this 13th Public Lecture will produce the robust intellectual discourse that our moment demands and it’s outcome will make a meaningful contribution to the modernization of the justice system in Ogun State and Nigeria as a whole,“ he said.
Similarly, the Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Chapter, Mr. Adeniyi Quadri, commended the commitment to strengthen the synergy between the Bar and the Bench, as the lecture would make the legal profession more evolving in initiatives such as providing a vital platform for robust discourse, innovation and progressive reforms.