Federal High Court to commence e-filing at Lagos Division on April 27

The Federal High Court of Nigeria has notified all Legal Practitioners and the general public that its electronic filing (e-filing) platform shall become operational in the Lagos Judicial Division of the court from 27th April, 2026.

According to a statement made available to newsmen on Monday, by the Acting Chief Registrar of the
Federal High Court of Nigeria, Yahaya Yakubu Shafa, the final date for the manual filing of new cases in the Lagos Division shall be 24th April, 2026.

“Thereafter, all new filings must be conducted exclusively through the e-filing platform.

“All matters instituted prior to the go-live date shall continue to be processed manually until judgment is delivered and such matters are finally disposed of”, the statement said.

According to the Acting Chief Registrar of the court, Legal Practitioners are advised that any person who, whether deliberately or inadvertently, understates the amount claimed or inaccurately declares the number or nature of documents filed, thereby resulting in an under-assessment of the prescribed filing fees, shall be required to pay the outstanding balance in addition to a penalty of N10,000 per filing.

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To ensure a seamless transition, the statement said, all Legal Practitioners are required to obtain their Legal Mail accounts prior to the go-live date, as possession of a Legal Mail address is a mandatory prerequisite for access to the e-filing platform.

It said that applications for Legal Mail accounts can be made on the Nigerian Bar website and added that all documents requiring oath administration must be processed through the e-Affidavit platform.

Notwithstanding this, the statement said, the deponent must physically appear before a Commissioner for Oaths for the administration of the oath.

The statement reads, “Furthermore, every Law Firm/Chambers shall be required to upload all relevant registration documents issued by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) when creating their profile on the e-filing platform.

“In addition, a two-day interactive training session on the e-filing system shall be held within the week of 20th to 24th April, 2026. The exact date, time, and venue shall be communicated in due course”, it said and enjoined all Legal Practitioners to be guided accordingly and to ensure strict compliance.