Uzogara McDonald Tobechukwu
The move to institutionalize the concept of virtual court proceedings in Nigeria received a major boost through the Supreme Court ruling on the matter. The Supreme Court held that there nothing at the moment that makes virtual court sittings in the country null, void and unconstitutional.
In separate matters brought before the apex court by the attorneys general of Lagos and Ekiti States, a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, held that it was premature to make any judicial pronouncement on the matter the law is still being debated by the National Assembly.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court urged judges round the country to continue to conduct virtual court proceedings where necessary pending the conclusion of the ongoing efforts of the National Assembly to amend the constitution.
It is instructive to know that with the onset of the covid 19 pandemic and the need to maintain social distancing, the need for virtual court proceedings has become more urgent. It is in this light that the Nigerian judicial system has moved to key into this all-important innovation.