Court proceedings across major judicial divisions in Ogun State remained disrupted on Wednesday, July 8, as the three-day boycott declared by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) branches in Abeokuta, Ota and Sagamu entered its final day, with lawyers and the state judiciary yet to resolve a dispute over a ₦100,000 virtual hearing fee and other judicial administrative policies.
The industrial action, which commenced on Monday, July 6, followed resolutions adopted by the three NBA branches after weeks of unsuccessful engagements with the Ogun State Judiciary over what lawyers described as policies that increase the cost of litigation and restrict legal practice. The protest is scheduled to end on Wednesday, although no fresh negotiations had been announced as of press time.
Owing to this disagreement, the judiciary introducef a ₦100,000 charge for every virtual court sitting. It serves as an upward review of affidavit-related fees and a policy limiting lawyers to processing four general affidavits daily. The lawyers maintained that the measures will make access to justice more expensive and create unnecessary obstacles for litigants and legal practitioners.
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Speaking after monitoring compliance with the boycott, the Chairman of the NBA Abeokuta Branch, Chief Kayode Aderemi, said members resolved to withdraw their services only after repeated efforts to persuade the judiciary to review the policies failed.
Aderemi said, “We are here today because members of our branch, by resolution at our branch meeting, resolved to embark on a three-day court boycott… The boycott is in protest against certain policies of the Ogun State Judiciary which we believe are inimical to the interests of our members.”
According to him, the ₦100,000 virtual hearing fee would ultimately be borne by litigants, many of whom already struggle with the financial burden of pursuing cases in court. He also criticised the increase in oath administration fees from ₦200 to more than ₦1,500 and the restrictions placed on affidavit processing, and that both policies complicate legal practice rather than improve court administration.
The boycott affected proceedings at High Courts, Magistrates’ Courts, Customary Courts, and the Customary Court of Appeal across the affected judicial divisions which continuously force several matters to be adjourned and delaying hearings for litigants awaiting trial or civil determination.
Responding on Tuesday, July 7, the Chief Registrar of the Ogun State High Court, Mr Olakulehin Oke, defended the judiciary’s position, where he confirmed that the reforms had been misunderstood.
Oke said, “Technology comes with costs. Establishing, maintaining and operating virtual court facilities requires significant investment.”
He noted that more than 600 virtual proceedings had already been conducted across nine of Ogun’s 11 judicial divisions, with witnesses joining proceedings from countries including Canada, Australia and the United States.
Oke also clarified that the four-document limit applies only to routine affidavits, including declarations of age, change of name and loss of documents, and not to affidavits filed in active court proceedings. According to him, the restriction was introduced through the OgunComis electronic affidavit platform to curb abuse and improve document integrity.
The dispute has reignited debate over how far judicial digitalisation should go without undermining access to justice. While courts across Nigeria have increasingly adopted electronic filing and virtual hearings since the COVID-19 pandemic, lawyers argue that technological reforms must not translate into prohibitive costs for court users.
With the boycott due to end on Wednesday, July 8, attention has shifted to whether renewed dialogue between the Bar and the Bench will produce a compromise capable of restoring normal court activities and easing growing concerns among litigants whose cases have been stalled by the protest.
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