Federal High Court launches portal for online affidavit application

The Federal High Court (FHC) in Lagos has embraced the digital world by inaugurating an online platform that enables the public to obtain affidavits directly from the court.

This initiative, spearheaded by FHC Chief Judge Justice John Tsoho, aligns the court with contemporary digital best practices on a global scale.

During a visit to the Lagos division of the court on Friday, the court’s Deputy Chief Registrar Mr. Godwin Long arranged an inspection of the facility’s new ICT department headed by Mr. Agwu Charles.

Agwu explained how the general public can make use of the innovation.

“It is now a norm that the Affidavit for loss of items, age declaration, change of name, etc can now be done via portal.fhc.gov.ng and following the instructors.

“What you just need to do is to login to the site: portal.fhc.gov.ng “, Agwu added.

Shedding more light, DCR Longe explained that at the moment, the portal can only process Affidavits that are non-cases related

“Affidavits filed to support a case are still done manually because of the peculiar disposition in such Affidavits,” Longe said.

He reiterated the need for people to be aware that henceforth, “they don’t necessarily have to be physically present to procure the type of Affidavits mentioned above.”

An affidavit is a sworn written statement, made voluntarily by an individual (affiant or deponent), which is administered by a person of authority such as a notary or an officer of the court.

They are used in legal proceedings outside of the court to assert that certain facts are true. They can also be used in court as evidence in lieu of oral testimony, and for various other legal purposes as authourized by law.

The e-affidavit system of the Federal High Court consists of electronic filing, electronic case management, virtual courtroom hearing, and online dispute resolution.