‎The Federal High Court has said the electronic filing (e-filing) platform will become operational in the Lagos Judicial Division with effect from April 27.

‎The final date for the manual filing of new cases in the Lagos Division is April 24, 2026.

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

‎It added that 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.

‎A statement by the Acting Chief Registrar, Yahaya Yakubu Shafa, read, “Legal practitioners are hereby 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.

‎”To ensure a seamless transition, 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.

“Applications for Legal Mail accounts can be made via: https://nigerianbar.ng.

‎”All documents requiring oath administration must be processed through the e-Affidavit platform (https://affidavit.courts.gov.ng).

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

‎”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.

‎”Instructional videos providing detailed guidance on the use of the e-filing system are available on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@JITPO-Com.

‎”All legal practitioners are hereby enjoined to be guided accordingly and to ensure strict compliance.” (The Nation)

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