DIGITIZATION OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS IN NIGERIA: A TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT IN JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION
- INTRODUCTION
The Federal Government of Nigeria in 2020 declared a lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a shutdown of physical economic activities and by extension neither the courts nor the offices of notaries public were open to the public. Notwithstanding the lockdown, e-commerce and remote work were in full force due to the advancement of technology, however, the hurdle of virtual signing and/ or notarization of documents and agreements were daunting because of uncertainties as to the admissibility of such documents. Also, in April 2021 courts were closed due to the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) strike which paralyzed judicial activities across the federation for over two months in Nigeria.
To address the above challenge and ensure the speedy and efficient dispensation of justice, some of the courts in Nigeria have introduced the use of electronic affidavits into their proceedings. The most recent being the issuance by the Federal High Court of Nigeria of a practice direction on the use of Electronic Affidavits pursuant to Orders 57 and 58 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019. Despite the above, there was a lacuna that was yet to be bridged in addressing the need for notarization of documents in the fast-paced world of commerce, the possibility of automating the process and the admissibility of documents generated through the process. The evolution of the court system is only to the extent of electronic affidavits, however, beyond affidavits, depositions and declarations were not captured in the process.
On the 12th of June 2023, the Notaries Public Act (2023) and The Evidence (Amendment) Act 2023 were signed into law by H. E. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Whilst the former repealed the Notaries Public Act, the latter amends the Evidence Act, to bring the provisions of the law in line with global technological advancements in evidence taking. The amendments to both legislations expand the connotation of what evidence entails to include electronic records in judicial proceedings in Nigeria. This includes the digital and remote notarization of documents, thereby dispensing with the physical appearance of a deponent before either a Commissioner for Oaths or a Notary Public as well as the admissibility of electronic records; and digitally and/ or electronically signed documents and/ or affidavits in evidence.
This article seeks to examine the amendments to each of the Acts and the import of such amendments on the use of electronic documents and their admissibility at law.
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