NAVIGATING THE DIGITAL FRONTIER IN NIGERIA: AN ANALYSIS OF CONTEMPORARY ISSUES ON GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN MODERN LITIGATION PRACTICE

Abstract

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in Nigerian litigation culminates in examining how large language models and related tools such as GPT variants, Gemini, LawPavilionGPT are reshaping legal practice by automating research, drafting, evidence, analysis, case management, multilingual translation, and trial strategy while highlighting attendant ethical, evidentiary, and operational risks. The problem addressed is the tension between substantial efficiency gains, which dramatically reduce research and review times and improve access to justice in backlog-ridden Nigerian courts, and serious hazards, such as hallucinations that fabricate citations and facts, among others. The paper evaluated GenAI’s applications and opportunities in litigation and also identified accuracy, fairness, and accountability concerns, and propose practical, Nigeria-centred responses. Using a doctrinal methodology, the paper explored GenAI’s historical evolution, specific courtroom uses and resource gaps in State High Courts across Nigeria. Findings show that while GenAI can substantially shorten timelines among others, it also produces hallucinations that have led to sanctions (e.g., Mata v. Avianca; Zhang v. Chen), can perpetuate biased outcomes when trained on skewed corpora, complicates evidence authentication among other contemporary issues. The paper recommends mandatory AI competency training for lawyers and judges among others.