VIRTUAL PROCEEDINGS, FAIR HEARING & ELECTORAL PROCESS: THE EMERGING JURISPRUDENCE

Abstract

Access to justice and the rule of law are some of the priority areas of the Nigerian Justice Sector Administration and the African Union Agenda 2063. With the outbreak of the dreaded Corona Virus in Wuhan, China in December, 2019 which later spread to almost all the parts of the world, several countries of the world were either totally or partially locked down. This, amongst other things, prevented a lot of people from having access to justice. Owing to this, there has been global efforts to design a global solution to the lack of access to justice triggered by the pandemic. The Nigerian Judiciary, just like her counterparts in other jurisdictions has developed regulations which allow for remote/virtual court proceedings in the various layers of courts in Nigeria. Election disputes, issues bordering on fair hearing, domestic violence and other areas of the justice sector suffered serious setbacks during the lockdown imposed by the Federal and State Governments in 2020. This paper therefore examines the application, prospects and challenges of virtual court proceedings with particular focus on electoral process and other emerging jurisprudence in Nigeria.