Lawyers under the Nigerian Bar Association in Abeokuta, Sagamu and Ota on Monday commenced a three-day boycott of court proceedings to protest what they described as unfavourable policies introduced by the Ogun State Judiciary, including a N100,000 charge for virtual court hearings.
Speaking with journalists after monitoring compliance across the Magistrates’ and High Courts in Abeokuta, the Chairman of the NBA, Abeokuta Branch, Chief Kayode Aderemi, said the lawyers decided to embark on the boycott after repeated engagements with the judiciary failed to yield results.
He said the lawyers were protesting the introduction of a N100,000 fee for virtual hearings, the increase in oath administration fees, and restrictions placed on the processing of affidavits.
Aderemi said, “We are here today because members of our branch, by resolution at our branch meeting, resolved to embark on a three-day court boycott, beginning today, 6th July 2026, through 8th July 2026. The boycott is in protest against certain policies of the Ogun State Judiciary which we believe are inimical to the interests of our members.
“Some of these policies include the payment of a ₦100,000 virtual hearing fee. This means that any litigant who wishes to have a matter heard virtually must pay ₦100,000 for each virtual session. There is also the increase in the oath administration fee from ₦200 to over ₦1,500. Our clients have complained about this increase, and it has also affected legal practitioners, who are constantly being questioned by their clients.
“Thirdly, there is the issue of restrictions placed on lawyers. As it stands today, lawyers cannot process more than four witness oaths in a single day. The question then is: if I have 15 or more witnesses in a case, what happens? We believe this policy unjustifiably limits the ability of lawyers to carry out their professional duties. These and other related issues are the reasons we have declared this court boycott.”
The NBA chairman said the association had done everything reasonably possible to engage the judiciary and explain why the policies should be reviewed, but no positive action had been taken to address their grievances.
He said, “For instance, we have written formally as a branch. Other NBA branches in Ogun State have also written on these issues.
“Beyond that, we have raised these concerns during the Bar and Bench meetings, where branch chairmen, branch secretaries, administrative judges and the Chief Judge are all present. We have discussed these matters repeatedly.
“In addition, respected senior members of the Bar have approached Their Lordships in an effort to resolve these issues. Unfortunately, all these efforts have proved unsuccessful.”
Aderemi said the boycott was being observed by the NBA Abeokuta, Ota and Sagamu branches, adding that monitoring had so far shown that the exercise was a huge success.
However, the Chief Registrar of the Ogun State High Court, Mr Olakulehin Oke, said the judiciary had not received any official notification from any NBA branch regarding the boycott.
Oke said the judiciary only became aware of the action through social media.
He said, “Officially, we have not been informed. As I speak, there has been no official communication from any branch of the Nigerian Bar Association notifying us of any court boycott. We became aware of the boycott the same way many others did—through social media.”
Responding to the complaints over the N100,000 virtual hearing fee, the Chief Registrar said the provision was introduced under the High Court of Ogun State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2024 after extensive consultation with NBA branches across the state.
He disclosed that draft copies of the rules were circulated to all five NBA branches before implementation, but only one branch responded, pointing out typographical errors.
Oke stressed that virtual hearings were optional and designed to improve access to justice rather than replace physical court sittings.