Technology key to unlock bottlenecks affecting speedy justice delivery in courts  -NBA Garki Chair, Ojo

By Christian Appolos, Abuja 
The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Garki Branch Abuja, Barrister Anthony Bamidele Ojo, has call for the evolution of Nigeria’s justice system in line with global standards to remain relevant and effective. 
He emphasized that the use of technology can greatly enhance the speed and effectiveness of justice delivery in the country, while also calling for a collective mindset change within the legal ecosystem.
Speaking at the 2025 Law Week of the NBA Garki Branch, themed “Law, Technology and the Society”, Barrister Ojo stressed that technology holds the key to unlocking the bottlenecks that have long delayed justice in Nigerian courts. “Effective justice delivery and speedy justice delivery with the use of technology is really achievable,” he said.
According to him, the Nigerian judiciary does not necessarily need new laws to improve justice delivery, but rather a shift in orientation. “When people talk about restructuring, I usually would say that we probably do not need new laws. Rather, we need to restructure our hearts, our minds to be open to making the legal environment, the justice environment, more amenable to changes and developments that are happening across the world. And accepting technology as a tool to drive this is a major starting point.”
Barrister Ojo noted that the Law Week theme was carefully chosen to reflect the urgent need for the legal profession to adapt to rapidly advancing global trends. “The theme for this year: law, technology and the society is born out of the fact that law has developed through the years, and as the law develops, we as a country, as a nation, and as a society, have to keep up with developments around the world. We have to update our knowledge. We have to update our practice. We have to keep up, because the manner of improvement in technological development across the world is going at a geometric progression. And if we do not keep up with the development, we will be left behind.”
He pointed out that the current pace of global connectivity has turned the world from a “global village” into a “global sitting room.” In his words: “You can sit in Nigeria and have Zoom meetings with people in places as far as Australia, the United States of America, and Europe. In different kinds of meetings now: be it arbitration meetings, high-level business meetings, you’ll see that in other jurisdictions, there’s a huge level of development. AI is taking over the whole world, even in court practices, in the manner of tendering evidence, and what is admissible.”
The NBA chairman drew attention to the developments in countries like the United Kingdom, where legal systems have already embraced digital tools for evidence adoption and courtroom procedures. “They’ve developed their laws. They’ve developed their manner of adopting evidence that will be used in court. We are trying here, but we really need to do more. Our legislature needs to adopt more use of technology in courts. The judges need to do more, the courts and the lawyers as well need to do more,” he stated.
He also challenged legal practitioners and stakeholders to embrace alternative dispute resolution mechanisms more robustly, noting that overburdening the appellate courts with cases that could have been settled earlier serves no one. “We need to get to the point where we use technology and other necessary means to put an end to particularly long adjournments in court. It will reduce all sorts of excuses you hear. And then we also need to educate ourselves that not all cases, ordinarily, where judgment is delivered by the High Court should go to the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court. Like it is said, there should be an end to litigation.”
Ojo called on his colleagues to abandon the culture of prolonging cases for financial gain. “When everyone puts his heart and mind to ensure that it is not how long a case lasts that you’ll be collecting monies from your clients or appearance fees… If you are able to get a case settled through alternative dispute resolution, and you do not resist the process—whether it is arbitration, mediation or conciliation—there will be speedy and effective disposition of justice.”
Expressing personal discomfort over unnecessarily prolonged cases, he added: “I don’t feel comfortable having to go to court for a case that lingers. I particularly, personally don’t like my cases in England. I always ensure that we get the job done, so that justice, judgment is delivered and we move on.”
He acknowledged that while some judges and lawyers are already integrating technology into their practices, more needs to be done. “Some judges are helping in that direction, though some are not yet, you know, getting to that point. But some are really doing well. Some lawyers too are also helping in that development. So we’ll get there. All we need do is just to put our hearts and minds in it and to make our economy better.”
Barrister Ojo also spoke on the role of the NBA in addressing national challenges beyond legal advocacy, especially in tackling issues that affect citizens directly. “The NBA has done a whole lot and is still doing more in that area. As I’m talking to you, the NBA, under the leadership of Afam Osigwe SAN, is organizing a security summit in Benue State to find ways of tackling the acute insecurity that is bedeviling the North Central region of Nigeria.”
He disclosed that the summit is part of a broader strategy by the NBA to engage with insecurity across the country. “After the North Central summit, we’ll go to other parts of the North, and we’ll go to other parts of the North East, North West, South East, South West, South South. So the NBA is doing a whole lot and that is part of the reason we are having this Law Week.”
According to Ojo, the discussions and panels at the Law Week are designed not only to update legal practitioners but also to reflect on their roles as “social engineers” in society. “Topics we are going to be talking about are all geared towards bringing out the issues concerning not just our practice, but concerning our citizens—how we deal with our citizens as social engineers, to be able to defend our clients and ensure that those who are not guilty are not sent to prison. Also, to ensure that we are able to provide justice for members of the society.”
He further stressed that the challenge is about willingness. “Some of us who are old school, who are still living in the past, we have to develop ourselves. We have to improve and make sure that we keep up, because the way the world is running at a very fast pace. Just like the communications companies will tell you: data is life, you have to be on your phone around the clock.”
Ojo concluded that embracing innovation in the justice sector is not a luxury but a necessity. “If we are going to be looking for investors, then the investors won’t take us seriously if they see that we are still lagging behind.”