Kalu advocates legal reforms to enhance timely, effective justice delivery

The Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has advanced reforms in the nation’s legal system to accommodate emerging technologies that will enhance justice delivery in a timely and efficient manner.

He also charged Nigerian lawyers to innovate and venture into emerging spaces in the legal profession or lose global relevance.

Kalu said this on Wednesday in Abuja while delivering a keynote at the 2025 Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Week of the Abuja branch of the lawyers’ body.

“As members of NBA, embrace innovation, expanding your practice in emerging fields; reform out-dated laws and rethink approach to legal education,’’ Kalu said.

The week-long programme has as its theme: `Unlocking Opportunities: New Frontiers.

Kalu said it was unfortunate that while lawyers in advanced parts of the country were breaking new frontiers, most of their counterparts in Nigeria were still involved in civil and criminal litigation.

According to him, branching into unfamiliar terrains such as space law, Artificial Intelligence (AI), cryptocurrency and wealth management, among others would keep Nigerian lawyers abreast of global best practices.

He said it would also open windows of wealth and other opportunities available in those fields.

The lawmaker said it was important for the nation’s judicial system and legal practitioners to fully embrace emerging technologies such as AI.

He said by doing so, justice delivery would be more affordable and available in a timely manner.

Kalu observed that some of the factors responsible for failure of Nigerians to fully embrace the legal system were delayed justice and expensive nature of litigation.

“Justice system must ensure access to justice. Unfortunately, this is being hampered by high cost of prosecuting cases,’’ he said.

Kalu said technologies such as virtual court sitting and prosecution would not only help in reducing the cost of accessing justice but also ensure fairness and robust record keeping.

He argued that with virtual transmission of court sittings, presiding officers would be conscious of the fact that happenings in their courts could be easily recorded and accessed by both interested and non-interested parties.

The lawmaker said reforms in the legal system would address areas such as copyright and data protection in jurisprudence.

“The legal profession is not static but dynamic. You should invest in building expertise and global best practices,” the lawmaker charged lawyers.

Earlier, the chairman of the Abuja branch of NBA, Mr Steve Emelieze, said the event was expected to open lawyers in the area to emerging realities in the legal profession.

“Today in the global environment, the legal profession is confronted with unpredicted challenges and opportunities.

“As custodians of the law, it is incumbent upon us to harness these opportunities to innovate and adapt, ensuring that justice and rule of law continue to thrive in our society.

“The legal profession must rise to the challenges of a rapidly changing world where technology, globalisation, economic pressure and social transformation are redrawing the boundaries of law and justice,’’ he said