Though a
Claimant/Applicant/Petitioner or Defendant/Respondent living abroad can give Power of Attorney to another person to
as his or her Attorney[1]
to stand in for him or her and play
the parts that are required to be played by the Claimant/Applicant/Petitioner or
Defendant/Respondent in a case. It should be noted that, there are vital
evidence which would be given by such an Attorney that, if not given directly
by a Claimant or a Respondent in person would amount to hearsay[2]
evidence which may not be admissible in evidence under the Nigerian Law of
Evidence.
Thus, there are a lot of Nigerians
and non-Nigerians living abroad who want to seek for justice in the Court in
Nigeria but are constrained by requirement that they have to be present in the Court
to give evidence in person as any evidence given on their behalf by another may
amount to hearsay evidence. This has led to loss of investments, properties,
opportunities to get justice and inability to legally divorce a spouse of a
dead marriage.
In our world of today where any enterprise
that is not digitally driven is outdated, the Nigeria justice system which
cannot afford to lag behind in the provision of digital justice delivery has
made provision for the hearing of cases in Court by virtual hearing which affords
a party or a witness living outside Nigeria to give evidence personally without
coming to Nigeria.
Thus, if you are considering
filing a case in Court in Nigeria or a case has been filed against you in which
you as party or as a vital witness is living outside Nigeria you may not have to
travel down to Nigeria to be physically present in Court to give evidence. Parties
and witnesses can now join the proceedings from the comfort of their homes in
the Country they are residing via virtual hearing or virtual Court proceedings.
In order file a law suit in Nigeria from abroad you need a Lawyer who has been licensed to practice law in Nigeria or called to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria to prepare or at least authenticate your originating Court processes.
Depending on the type of your originating processes, you would be required to swear to an Affidavit or Witness Statement on Oath before a Commissioner for Oaths in the Court where the originating processes are filed or to be filed.
Our Law Firm has overcome this challenge for our Client living abroad by filing originating Court processes in Nigeria for a lot of our Clients living outside Nigeria relying on the provision of the law which allows for swearing of Affidavit and Witness Statement on Oath outside Nigeria.
In the Lagos State High Court after the filing of originating processes and your case is ripe for trial, an application for virtual hearing has to be
made by your Counsel in Court to the presiding Judge of your case for approval for the
matter to be heard virtually. Upon the grant of the application, the evidence
of the granting of the application will be requested at the E-Filing Center of the Court for the registration
for virtual hearing to enable the IT unit set up the necessary logistics.
If you a Nigerian or a non-Nigerian living abroad and you need further legal illumination on how you can file a case in Court in Nigeria or how you can file your defence in a case filed against you, you can contact the writer: Akintunde Esan known as “The Legal Adviser Online”. The Managing Partner of Ase Olodumare Chambers, a digital Law Firm though based in Lagos handles cases for clients across Nigeria.
[1] The use of the word “Attorney” here does not mean a
Lawyer but a person appointed via a Power of Attorney to act on behalf of another
in a transaction or in a matter.
[2] 37. Hearsay means a statement — (a)
oral or written made otherwise than by a witness in a proceeding; or (b)
contained or recorded in a book, document or any record whatever, proof of
which is not admissible under any provision of this Act, which is tendered in
evidence for the purpose of proving the truth of the matter stated in it. 38.
Hearsay evidence is not admissible except as provided in this Part or by or
under any other provision of this or any other Act. Sections 37 and 38 of the Evidence Act, 2011
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