The National Judicial Institute (NJI) has called on judicial officers across the country to remain sensitive to the vulnerabilities faced by women, children, and marginalized communities in their interpretation and application of justice within the digital space.
The administrator of the NJI, Justice Salisu Abdullahi, made this appeal in Uyo during a workshop on digital rights held Monday in Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State. The event, themed “Upholding Justice in the Digital Age: Strengthening Judicial Capacity on Digital Rights and Cyber Governance”, was organized by Paradigm Initiative in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission and the NJI, with support from the Netherlands Embassy in Nigeria.
The workshop was aimed at equipping judges and judicial officers with the skills, tools, and understanding required to adjudicate digital rights cases effectively while upholding human rights in the Nigerian legal context.
Justice Abdullahi acknowledged that the judicial ecosystem is undergoing rapid transformation, noting that this shift necessitates reflection on how justice can be delivered in a way that aligns with constitutional values and the realities of an increasingly digital society.
According to him, “The rapid evolution of digital technologies has introduced a new layer of complexity—one that invariably demands an informed, agile, and forward-looking judiciary.
“Today, digital platforms have become central to communication, commerce, governance, and personal expression. But alongside their promise, we are confronted with new and pressing risks posed by online harassment, digital surveillance, misinformation, internet shutdowns, cyberbullying, identity theft, and massive data breaches, to mention a few.
“These issues raise complex legal questions that are now appearing more frequently in our courts today. Consequently, as custodians of justice, it behoves Your Lordships to approach these questions with a rights-based lens, ensuring that our jurisprudence aligns with national constitutional guarantees as well as international human rights norms.
“We must also remain particularly mindful of the vulnerabilities faced by women, children, and marginalized communities in the digital space,” he added.
Also addressing the gathering, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, urged judicial officers to prepare for the challenges posed by rapidly evolving technology, which he noted is transforming lives, economies, and systems of governance at unprecedented speed.
“We live in a time where technology is reshaping lives, economies, and governance at a breakneck speed,” he said. “Yet, with its boundless opportunities come profound challenges exemplified by data privacy breaches, cybercrime, digital surveillance, and the spread of misinformation, which threaten the very rights we are all sworn to protect.
“In this landscape, the judiciary stands as the last line of defence for citizens navigating the digital frontier. This workshop, therefore, is both timely and critical.
“As custodians of justice, judicial officers must be equipped with the knowledge, tools, and adaptive skills to interpret laws in contexts unimagined just a decade ago.”
The president of the National Industrial Court, Justice Benedict Kanyip, also spoke at the event, noting that upholding justice in the digital era required modernizing legal systems to confront the unique challenges posed by technology.
He highlighted areas of concern such as the treatment of digital evidence, cybersecurity threats, online harassment, hate speech, and the digital divide, which reflects disparities in access to technology and digital literacy.
In his remarks, the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, Mr. Gbenga Sesan, expressed confidence in the quality of resource persons engaged for the workshop, affirming their capacity to effectively address issues surrounding digital rights in Nigeria.
