Supreme Court tells lawyers to upload appeal documents using new system

The Supreme Court has told lawyers with appeals and motions set for hearing between September and December 2026 to upload their court documents through the Nigerian Case Management System (NCMS).

This uploading is a must under the new electronic filing system launched on 1 July by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.

Lawyers have 30 days before their hearing dates to complete the uploading of the necessary documents.

This directive was in a statement signed by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Kabir Akanbi.

The statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday said this requirement follows Rule 10(1) of the Supreme Court Practice Direction, 2026.

The court asked lawyers to find the list of appeals and motions set for hearing on its website.

How to access list of appeals

To check the list of appeals and motions set for hearing, lawyers should follow these steps:

1. Visit the Supreme Court website.
2. Click on Litigation.
3. Select Nigerian Case Management System (NCMS).
4. Click on Download Documents.
5. Look at the list of Appeals and Motions scheduled for hearing between September and December 2026.

After that, lawyers must upload all relevant filed documents for their cases. This includes the Record of Appeal, Briefs of Argument, pending Motions, and all other filed processes. They must do this no later than 30 days before the hearing date, as stated in Rule 10(1) of the Supreme Court Practice Direction, 2026.

The court urged all lawyers "to comply strictly with this requirement to facilitate the smooth operation of the Nigerian Case Management System and ensure the efficient and timely determination of cases."

Backstory

This new move comes after the launch of the court’s electronic filing system and a digital case management platform on 1 July.

In his statement in June about the upcoming launch, Mr Akanbi, the Supreme Court Chief Registrar, called it a big step towards modernising justice in Nigeria.

He said the Supreme Court Electronic Filing (E-Filing) System and the Nigeria Case Management System (NCMS) would digitise important parts of the court’s work, like filing and managing cases.

He added that these systems aim to improve efficiency, transparency, and access to justice while helping the court handle cases better.

"The E-Filing System and NCMS are made to boost efficiency, transparency, accessibility, and timely justice by modernising the Court’s case filing and management processes," he said.

He mentioned that this initiative is part of efforts to use technology in judicial administration and enhance service at Nigeria’s top court.

This move comes as more digital tools are used in Nigeria’s justice sector, with courts looking to cut delays from manual processes and improve case tracking and record management.

While electronic filing is already used in some courts across the country, its use at the Supreme Court is expected to make procedures easier at the highest level of Nigeria’s judiciary and cut down on paper-based processes.

Mr Akanbi said more details about the implementation of these systems, including the rollout schedule and operational guidelines, would be shared later.