THE CHALLENGES IN SUSTAINING ELECTRONIC COMMERCE IN THE NIGERIAN LEGAL SYSTEM

Abstract

The e-commerce sector in Nigeria has grown rapidly over the last decade. This has been driven by mobile technology, internet penetration as well fin-tech advancements across the nation. Beside the astronomical growth, it is significant to observe that the Nigerian judiciary has been struggling to keep pace due to under-funding, manual case management systems, and a seemingly lack of digital training for judges. These deficiencies has been causing significant delays, increase litigation costs, and diminish investor confidence. The authors therefore argued that a comparison of the Nigerian judicial handling of e-commerce disputes with practices in other jurisdictions such as England, the United States, and China, where electronic filing, online dispute resolution, and specialized cyber courts are utilized, leaves much to be desired, apparently due to critical gaps in the Nigerian legal framework regarding electronic contracts, data privacy, consumer protection, and cybersecurity. Consequent on the above, the authors maintained the need for adoption of international best practices immediately by institutionalizing e-filing, establish specialized e-courts, and legally recognize enforceable e-contracts. The paper therefore concluded the need for a unified national e-commerce policy framework, enhanced regulatory collaboration, and continuous investment in digital judicial infrastructure, with an aim to improving judicial efficiency, restoration of investor trust, and boosting of Nigeria's long-term competitiveness in the evolving global digital economy.