Nigeria’s Chief Justice, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has announced a major digital transformation plan for the country’s judiciary, declaring that although artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the legal profession worldwide, no technology can replace the human reasoning, constitutional duty and moral responsibility required of judges.

Justice Kekere-Ekun made the declaration on Monday while speaking at the opening ceremony of the Nigerian Bar Association Lagos Branch Law Week 2026, held at Jewel AIEDA Event Centre, where she addressed lawyers, judges and legal professionals on the growing intersection between law, justice and emerging technologies.

Delivering a keynote speech themed “Beyond Disruption: Redefining Legal Practice at the Intersection of Law, Technology and Justice,” the Chief Justice said the legal profession has now entered an era where technology is permanently reshaping how courts operate and how legal services are delivered.

According to her, technological disruption is no longer a future possibility but an existing reality already transforming legal systems globally through artificial intelligence-powered legal research, automated contract drafting, digital document review, virtual court proceedings, electronic filing systems and technology-driven case management processes.

She said while these innovations have significantly improved efficiency and accelerated legal work, they must never be allowed to override the core principles that define justice itself.

Justice Kekere-Ekun stressed that justice remains a fundamentally human process built on fairness, constitutional interpretation, discretion and the ability to weigh competing rights in complex circumstances responsibilities that cannot be delegated to machines.

The Chief Justice explained that although artificial intelligence systems are increasingly capable of recognizing legal patterns, studying previous judgments and even predicting likely court outcomes, such systems still lack the ability to determine what justice truly demands in individual cases.

She maintained that judges are not merely processors of legal information but constitutional officers entrusted with interpreting the law while exercising conscience, reason and independent judgment, qualities she said no machine can replicate.

Warning legal practitioners about the growing misuse of artificial intelligence, Justice Kekere-Ekun pointed to recent incidents around the world where lawyers were punished after submitting fictitious legal authorities generated by AI systems.

She described the problem, popularly known as AI hallucination, as a dangerous reminder that technology can generate false information that appears legitimate if professionals fail to independently verify the materials they rely on.

According to her, such incidents should serve as a warning that technological mistakes can quickly become professional misconduct when lawyers surrender critical thinking to automated systems.

She emphasized that ethical responsibility in legal practice remains entirely human, regardless of how sophisticated digital tools become.

The Chief Justice also expressed concern over the issue of algorithmic bias, warning that artificial intelligence systems are trained using historical human data and can unknowingly reproduce discrimination or inaccurate assumptions while appearing neutral and objective.

Because of this, she said Nigeria’s legal profession must begin creating strong regulatory standards governing the use of algorithm-based evidence, digital accountability systems and transparency requirements as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into legal and commercial transactions.

She urged lawyers across the country to begin building practical knowledge beyond traditional legal training, insisting that future legal practice will increasingly demand competence in areas such as artificial intelligence systems, blockchain technology, cybersecurity frameworks, digital financial transactions and electronic evidence management.

According to her, the future belongs to legal professionals who can successfully combine legal expertise with technological understanding.

Turning attention to the bench, Justice Kekere-Ekun said judges themselves must embrace technological literacy because courts are already beginning to handle disputes involving cybercrime, cryptocurrency transactions, blockchain agreements, digital fraud, synthetic media, manipulated digital evidence and other technologically complex matters.

She warned that judges who fail to understand technological evolution risk being unprepared for the legal challenges rapidly emerging within modern society.

One of the biggest highlights of her address was the announcement that the Supreme Court of Nigeria is nearing final implementation of the National Case Management System (NCMS), a digital platform designed to modernize the country’s highest court. She described the project as one of the biggest institutional reforms ever introduced within Nigeria’s judicial system.

The system, according to her, will allow cases before the Supreme Court to be electronically monitored from the point of filing through final determination, while improving case scheduling, registry administration, record management, judicial workflow coordination and overall transparency.

Justice Kekere-Ekun further disclosed that the apex court is preparing to launch new operational guidelines known as the Supreme Court Mandatory Upload of Electronic Copies of Processes, Record of Appeal and Other Matters Practice Directions 2026.

Under the new framework, lawyers appearing before the Supreme Court will now be required to upload digital copies of court documents, appeal records and legal processes alongside existing physical filing procedures.

She explained that the new system will create a secure digital database for court records, reduce delays caused by physical documentation, improve access to case materials for justices and accelerate hearing of appeals.

The Chief Justice said these reforms should not be viewed merely as technological upgrades but as deliberate institutional changes aimed at making justice delivery faster, more transparent and more efficient for Nigerians.

However, she warned against creating a digital justice system that excludes ordinary citizens who may lack internet access or adequate digital literacy. According to her, technology should widen access to justice rather than create new barriers for vulnerable or disadvantaged Nigerians.

She expressed optimism that Nigeria has the capacity to become Africa’s leading digital justice system, pointing out that the country already possesses the continent’s largest legal profession, one of Africa’s busiest court systems and a fast-growing technology sector.

Justice Kekere-Ekun challenged the Nigerian Bar Association, universities and the Council of Legal Education to begin redesigning legal education by integrating technology training into professional development programmes.

She also called on Nigerian software developers and technology innovators to build legal technology solutions specifically designed around Nigeria’s court procedures and constitutional framework instead of depending entirely on imported foreign systems.

Addressing young lawyers entering the profession, she described the present era as one of enormous opportunity and urged them to embrace continuous learning while developing the ability to adapt to rapidly changing technological realities.

At the same time, she warned them never to allow technology replace independent reasoning, professional discipline and ethical judgment. According to the Chief Justice, artificial intelligence may generate information quickly, but it lacks the intellectual curiosity, moral conscience and deep reasoning required to ask difficult questions that often define successful legal practice.

Concluding her address, Justice Kekere-Ekun insisted that technology must remain a tool for strengthening justice rather than becoming a substitute for justice itself.

She said public trust in the judiciary will never depend solely on digital innovation but on the integrity of judges, independence of the courts and professionalism of lawyers.

In a firm closing message, the Chief Justice made clear that while artificial intelligence will continue changing the world, no machine, algorithm or digital system can ever replace the conscience, constitutional duty and human judgment required to deliver true justice under the law.

• This report was originally published by NETWORK TIMES

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