Law Reporting: Stakeholders Back Call for Regulation
Former governor of Lagos State and one-time Minister of Works, BABATUNDE FASHOLA, has called for the regulation of law report publication in Nigeria.
FASHOLA threw the challenge directly at the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice KUDIRAT KEKERE-EKUN, who was represented by Justice Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court at an event in Lagos to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Nigerian Weekly Law Reports.
Delivering a keynote address on the topic: “Safeguarding the Legacy of Law Reporting and Embracing the Future in the Technological Era”, FASHOLA cautioned legal practitioners against over reliance on information generated from online sources, particularly Artificial Intelligence.
FASHOLA, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, observed that there are about thirty law reports currently being published in the country, but said several of the publications are not reliable for citation in court cases. He warned that there are many instances, even in more advanced legal jurisdictions, where lawyers have relied on information generated from Artificial Intelligence sources for case citations that were found to be false, although plausible.
In his response as a panelist, Hon Justice JOSEPH OLUBUNMI OYEWOLE of the Court of Appeal, advised that Artificial Intelligence should be well-mastered for effective deployment, just as he advised law report editors to ensure due diligence.
Similarly, ABDUL MOHAMMED who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, reminded lawyers that their duty to the court is to help ensuring that justice is delivered, stressing that late GANI FAWEHINMI exemplified that in his legal practice and through the publication of the Nigerian
The call for regulation of law reports publication in Nigeria also received the support of several legal and judicial officers, including two founding members of the Editorial Board of the NWLR, WEMIMO OGUNDE and TAYO OYETIBO, who are both Senior Advocates of Nigeria.
However, LAI BABATUNDE – also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said while there is need for the regulation of law report publishing, it was also necessary to carefully consider who the regulator should be, to avoid running into bigger problems.
Lending her opinion to the discussion on the sideline of the NWLR event, MONISOLA TAYO-OYETIBO – the Chief Executive Officer of Law FM 103.9 – Nigeria’s only law radio station, said regulation of law reports was necessary to avoid chaos.