ADMISSIBILITY OF ELECTRONICALLY GENERATED EVIDENCE IN NIGERIA: A GENERAL OVERVIEW

Abstract

The transformation introduced by technology in judicial proceedings cannot be overemphasized especially withregards to electronically generated evidence. Before the enactment of the extant Evidence Act in Nigeria, proofand admissibility of electronic evidence was a really contentious issue that lawyers had to slug out in courtduring civil and criminal trials. Some cases that would have been won easily but for proof of electronicallygenerated evidence were lost. The replacement of the repealed Evidence Act, 2004 with the current one of 2011incorporated several innovations that included the parameters for admitting electronic evidence in judicialproceedings. The present research is an attempt to review electronic evidence, its forms and the various lawsthat set the tone for the admissibility of electronically generated evidence in Nigeria.