Lagos lawyers begin e-filing, June 23
By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
The Federal High Court of Nigeria on Thursday formally issued a release notifying all legal practitioners and the general public that e-filing platform will become operational in the Lagos Division with effect from the 23rd day of June, 2025.
In view of this, the final date for the manual filing of new cases in the Judicial Division shall end on the 20th day of June, 2025.
In a notice to all legal practitioners and general public particularly in Lagos Judicial Division signed by the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Sulaiman Amida Hassan Esq., there shall be strict compliance to this notice as defaulters will be penalised.
The notice titled ‘Notice To Lawyers And General Public’ states that “it should be noted that all cases instituted prior to the go-live date shall continue to be processed manually, until judgement is delivered and those matters finally disposed off.
“Any Lawyer who, either deliberately or inadvertently, understates the amount claimed, or incorrectly declares the number or type of documents filed, thereby causing an under-assessment of prescribed fees, shall be liable to pay the balance due, together with a penalty in the sum of N10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira) for each filing.
In order to ensure a seamless transition, all legal practitioners are required to obtain their Legal Mail accounts before the go-live date, as possession of a legal mail address is a mandatory prerequisite for access to the e-filing platform.
“Lawyers can visit https://nigerianbar.ng and apply for their Legal Mail.
Furthermore, documents that require an oath must be submitted to the Court via the e-affidavit platform (https://affidavit.courts.gov.ng) and the deponent must appear before the Commissioner for Oaths for the administration of the oath.
“It shall be necessary for each Law Chamber to upload all relevant documents relating to its registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on the e-filling platform, while creating the Chambers’ profile.
“Instructional videos providing detailed guidance on the use of the e-filing platform are available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@JITPO-com and these materials shall also be circulated via the Lawyers’ WhatsApp platform.
“Finally, a two-day interactive session on the e-filing system shall be convened during the week of 16th to 20th June, 2025. The precise date, time and venue shall be communicated in due course.
“All legal practitioners are enjoined to be guided accordingly and to ensure strict compliance”, the Chief Registrar states.
