By Legal Nigeria Correspondent
Lagos, Nigeria — The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja Branch has issued a formal appeal to the NBA President, calling for swift action to implement the association’s recent resolution on the adoption of an electronic stamp and seal. Nearly two months after the NBA resolved to modernize legal documentation processes through a digital stamp initiative, members of the Ikeja Branch report that the nation’s judiciary has yet to acknowledge or support the change, causing significant disruption in court procedures.
The initiative, introduced at the NBA’s last Annual General Meeting, was designed to streamline the production of stamps and seals, long a source of delays and administrative headaches for legal practitioners. However, in a letter signed by Ikeja Branch Chairman Oluwaseyi Olawumi and Secretary Dr. Issa Adedokun, branch leaders reported that processes bearing the new electronic stamp are routinely rejected by court registries due to the judiciary’s lack of awareness of the NBA’s resolution.
“This situation leaves our members frustrated,” the letter to the NBA President stated, emphasizing that the courts’ refusal to accept documents with the new e-stamp has created confusion among attorneys. At the recent Bar and Bench Forum in Lagos, chaired by Lagos State’s Chief Judge Hon. Justice Kazeem Alogba, Ikeja Branch representatives voiced members’ concerns over the non-compliance, but court officials indicated that no directive to recognize the e-stamp had been issued by the NBA.
The Ikeja Branch is now urging the NBA President to intervene by formally notifying judicial bodies across the country and advising court registrars on the procedural standards required for electronic stamps. The letter further proposed that court staff receive training on recognizing authentic e-stamps to facilitate a smoother transition.
The electronic stamp initiative was initially hailed as a groundbreaking step toward digitizing Nigeria’s legal framework, aligning it with modern practices in legal administration. The delay in its full implementation, however, threatens to undermine the progress the NBA has promised its members.
