INTRODUCTION
The Evidence (amendment) act,2023 was signed into law in the 12th day of June 2023 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Evidence (amendment) act (hereinafter referred to as The act) did not repeal the Evidence Act 2011(The Principal Act) but amends the principal act to bring its provisions in accordance with global technological advancements., which will be applicable to all courts and judicial proceedings in Nigeria. The Act amends/substitutes several provisions of The Principal Act, thereby introducing notable innovations such as; digital signatures, inclusion of electronic records, electronic oath taking, an in-depth expansion of the scope of computer generated evidence, etc.
SOME KEY CHANGES/INNOVATIONS INTRODUCED BY THE EVIDENCE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2023
ELECTRONIC RECORDS.
The act amends the provisions of section 84 of The Principal Act, which relates to the admissibility of electronic generated evidence. By the amendment of section 84(2)(a)(c)(d); 84(4)(a)(b); 84(5)(c) of the Principal Act and the substitution of section 84(2)(b), The Act amplifies the applicability of admissibility of statements in documents to include ‘Electronic records’ The provisions of section 84(2) of The Act will not only apply to computer generated documents, but also to electronic records. Therefore, by virtue of the act, ‘document’ now includes electronic records of information, which is printed on a paper, stored, recorded or copied in optical or magnetic media or cloud computing or data base produced by a computer.
ELECTRONIC AFFIDAVITS.
The Act amends the provisions of Section 108, 109, 110 and 119(2) of The Principal Act, which relates to the deposition of affidavits. In line with the new provisions, where an affidavit is deposed to electronically before any person duly authorised to take affidavits, a copy shall be filed at the court registry and may be recognized for any purpose in court. Also, it is conclusive that the physical presence of a deponent is no longer required for swearing of affidavits as audiovisuals means are allowed, provided it is in real time.
DIGITAL SIGNATURES
Another remarkable amendment under The Act, is the introduction of digital signatures. By virtue of the amendment of Section 93(1)(2)(3) of the Principal Act, The Act allows the authentication of electronic records through the use of digital signatures or electronic authentication technique which may be specified by The Act or considered reliable.
ELECTRONIC GAZETTES.
The Act now recognizes electronic gazettes as it amends Section 255 of the Principal Act. The Act provides that where a rule, regulation or notification be published in the Federal Government Gazette, it will be deemed to have been validly published, if it is published in an electronic Gazette.
CONCLUSION
There is a need for modernizing Nigeria’s Legal framework for the digital era in line with global standards. Thus, the amendment of the Evidence Act 2011 can be considered a step towards the right direction as it recognises the need for technological advancement.
REFERENCES
- Section 2 of The Evidence (Amendment)Act, 2023.
- Section 3 of The Evidence (Amendment)Act, 2023.
- Section 5 of the Evidence (Amendment)Act, 2023.
- Section 109,110 and 119(2) Evidence (Amendment)Act, 2023.
- Section 10 Evidence (Amendment)Act, 2023
- Section 3 and 4 Evidence (Amendment)Act, 2023.
- Section 9 Evidence (Amendment)Act,2023
