By 
By Chinedu James
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has tasked the National Judicial Institute (NJI) on the need to understand the dynamic of technologies, particularly emerging technologies and how they impact on the judiciary system of the country.
The Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta spoke at the judges’ workshop held recently in Lagos to discuss and proffer legal solutions to myriads of telecoms issues requiring legal attention and redress.
Danbatta represented by the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, NCC, Mr. Sunday Dare spoke on the essence and importance of the Nigerian Judicial sector to familiarise with the implementation of Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies.
He noted that the disruptive technology is being adopted by judicial sectors in developed countries and Nigeria must also be involved owing to its ease and enhanced processing level.
Danbatta’s position is captured in a recent analysis by Deloitte which says that over 100,000 jobs in the legal sector have a chance of being automated in the next twenty years.
“The use of data and technology is growing in the legal sector and there is scope for greater application in the future. For instance, some law firms are making use of the large volumes of contract information and data they have to create value for their business using advanced analytics.
“There is significant potential for high-skilled roles that involve repetitive processes to be automated by smart and self-learning algorithms. In the short term, there will be a need to support and manage this transition,” the report says.
Danbatta further stated that the deliberate effort of the commission to hold the workshop with the judges which exposes them to telecommunications issues borders on the need to seek its contributions and solutions on cybercrime and other issues.
“Cybercriminals have continued to develop new strategies to circumvent cybersecurity, regardless of measures put in place to checkmate their acts. It is necessary to discuss the admissibility of electronic evidence toward the successful prosecution of such cybercriminals.
“As such, the commission recognises the need for the judicial system to be part of those making contributions to checkmate the issue of cybercrime. Hence, the bold step behind exposing our judges to issues in telecommunication,” he said.
The Judges Workshop is an annual week-long event organised by the Nigerian Communication Commission in conjunction with the National Judicial Institute (NJI) to sensitize Nigerian judges on telecoms issues and acquaint them with emergent technologies such as use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), SIM Masking and Refilling in order to brainstorm the legal frameworks surrounding these services.
