The Supreme Court of Nigeria has officially transitioned into a new digital era, directing all legal practitioners with appeals and motions scheduled for hearing between September and December 2026 to upload their court processes online.
The landmark directive, signed by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Kabir Akanbi, mandates that all filings be processed electronically via the newly integrated Nigerian Case Management System (NCMS) portal.
According to the apex court, the move is in strict compliance with Rule 10(1) of the Supreme Court Practice Direction, 2026, which was enacted under the leadership of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to accelerate the pace of justice delivery and eliminate manual file-handling delays.
Under the new guidelines, lawyers are required to visit the Supreme Court’s official website, navigate to the “Litigation” section, and access the comprehensive list of scheduled appeals and motions. Once identified, legal counsels must upload all relevant documents—including the complete Record of Appeal, Briefs of Argument, pending Motions, and other associated processes—directly to the portal.
The court emphasized a strict timeline for compliance, warning that all uploads must be completed no later than 30 days before the scheduled hearing date of the case.
“The Court urges all Counsel to comply strictly with this requirement to facilitate the seamless operation of the Nigerian Case Management System and ensure the efficient and timely determination of cases,” the statement from the Chief Registrar read.
This digital overhaul is expected to bring unprecedented transparency to the apex court’s filing system, significantly reducing the physical logistics of filing bulky paper briefs and curbing the risk of missing or altered records.
Ayodele Quadri
Correspondent
