…as UNILAG’s Faculty of Law holds a special public lecture
Nigerian jurists and scholars have advocated for curriculum review, especially in Law schools, to prepare future lawyers to be in tandem with the contemporary digitally evolving world.
Many Nigerian legal professionals who spoke at the 2025 Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG) special public lecture called for a review of the curriculum in schools to marry upcoming legal practitioners with evolving technologies.
Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), who delivered the special lecture with the topic, “Justice in the Digital Age: Leveraging Technology for an Efficient and Accessible Judiciary in Nigeria” on Wednesday, June 18, advocated revision of the curriculum at the Nigerian Law School to prepare the next generation of legal professionals for a hybrid legal environment that fuses tradition with innovation.
“The curriculum at Nigerian Law School must be reviewed to prepare the next generation of legal professionals for a hybrid legal environment, one that fuses tradition with innovation,” she said.
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Kekere-Ekun emphasised the need for the country to build an inclusive, secure, and sustainable digital judiciary.
“Technology, in itself, is neutral. Its impact depends not only on how it is deployed, but also on whose benefit, under what conditions, and with what safeguards.
“The judiciary’s embrace of digital innovation must therefore be guided by three overarching goals: inclusion, trust, and sustainability,” she stressed.
She reiterated that legal professionals need capacity building to optimise digital tools in the judiciary, emphasising that the judiciary, as a core arm of government, bears the weighty responsibility of interpreting the law and safeguarding the rights and liberties of all Nigerians.
Hence, the CJN said that as the jurists confront the realities of a fast-changing world defined by digital tools and accelerated expectations, there is a need to rise to the challenge.
“For the judiciary to remain relevant, respected, and responsive, it must evolve. It must shed layers of inefficiency that distance it from the people, and embrace innovations that bring justice closer to the doorstep of every Nigerian.
It must, in essence, become more than an arbiter; it must become a bridge: between law and society, between tradition and innovation, between the letter of the law and the spirit of justice. Technology offers us the tool to effectively be that bridge,” she said.
Folasade Ogunsola, vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, in her address, said the lecture was organised with the vision to inspire students and produce law graduates fit for purpose.
Ogunsola emphasised that the topic of the lecture is not only timely but very topical.
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“The digital revolution is shaping how society functions, how institutions operate, and therefore how justice is sought, delivered, and executed.
“The Covid-19 pandemic not only showed us the benefits of technology on the administration of justice, but also accelerated in quality,” she said.
The vice-chancellor maintained that technology is an acknowledged catalyst for growth and development; hence, the ego of the profession must not stand in its knowledge.
To the students, she reminded them that the CJN was once a student of UNILAG just as they were; hence, she charged them, “There is nothing a student cannot achieve with vision, dedication, hard work, and integrity.”
Abiola Sanni, the dean of the Faculty of Law, said the Faculty of Law’s annual lecture is a flagship of the academic calendar, and an opportunity for a distinguished voice to illuminate contemporary issues of law and development in a manner that participants have a takeaway as they learn, unlearn, and relearn.
Sanni said the annual lecture’s topic, “Justice in the Digital Age”, could not be timelier.
“We live in a world where the court of public opinion on social media increasingly competes with the courtroom; where evidence comes not just from witnesses in the box but from smartphones in our hands; where artificial intelligence drafts contracts and algorithms are saddled with the task of predicting judgments.
“Despite the above, technology is reshaping not only society but also the administration of justice. Far from being a threat, technology offers the judiciary immense opportunities: to enhance access to justice, reduce delays, and make proceedings more transparent and efficient,” he said.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos State, represented by Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin, secretary to the Lagos State government, said the title of the lecture sits at the front of an urgent national conversation in an age inspired by graphic digital transformation.
“It is a necessity for building trust, involving transparency and creating and improving society where the law serves more, not just the privileged few.
“It is within this vision that the lay-off of the government has been pioneering reform and investing in technological infrastructure to re-engineer the demonstration of trust with a future,” he said.
He said Lagos State is taking some strategic action to ensure that the judiciary becomes a fully digital, foreign institution, such as digital care management and e-filing system, cultural technology, and infrastructure development.
Some dignitaries at the lecture include Wole Olanipekun, UNILAG’s pro-chancellor; Akin Oyebode, chairman of the event; Taiwo Osipitan, chairman of the lecture organising committee; Kazeem Alogba, the Chief Judge of Lagos State; Tunde Bakare, a legal luminary and pastor; and Akin Kekere-Ekun, husband to the CJN, among other legal professionals.
