Muhammad Olaniyan (University of Ilorin) has posted Algorithmic Justice: Examining the Admissibility and Evidential Weight of AI-Generated Evidence in Nigerian Courts on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way information is created, stored, analysed and presented. In litigation, parties may increasingly seek to rely on AI-generated text, images, audio, video, summaries, translations, predictive outputs and other forms of synthetic or AI-assisted material. Nigerian evidence law, however, was principally developed around human statements and computer-generated records rather than systems that can generate new content through statistical inference. This article examines whether, and on what basis, AI-generated evidence may be admitted in Nigerian courts and what evidential weight should be attached to it after admission. It considers the framework under the Evidence Act 2011 (as amended), particularly sections 1, 2, 68, 84, 86, 93, 131-139 and 211, and the developing judicial approach to computer-generated evidence in cases including Kubor v Dickson, Sylva v Dickson, Jubril v FRN and AG of the Federation v Anuebunwa. The article argues that compliance with section 84 should not be treated as proof that an AI output is accurate. Authenticity, relevance and statutory admissibility are distinct from reliability and probative value. AI systems create additional risks of algorithmic bias, hallucination, manipulation, deepfakes and limited transparency. The article therefore proposes a technology-sensitive approach under which AI-generated material is not automatically excluded merely because AI was involved, but is subjected to careful scrutiny of its provenance, method of production, system reliability, validation, error rates, possible bias, chain of custody and independent corroboration. It concludes that Nigerian courts can accommodate AI-generated evidence within the existing evidential framework, but legislative guidance and judicial capacity-building are increasingly necessary to ensure that technological efficiency does not come at the expense of fair trial and accurate fact-finding.
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