New Telegraph 
I am a fan of technology and will continue to applaud the technological advances that have assisted us and humanity in solving challenging problems.
I am amazed at what the young people of this country have been doing in the technological realm, though some of them use technology to do things that are not edifying and or put technology to purposes that undermine its essence.
The rise of social media has undoubtedly transformed the way we communicate, access information, and engage with critical issues.
It has provided a platform for voices to be amplified, stories to be told, and justice to be demanded.
However, this digital revolution has also given rise to a frenzy that often blurs the lines between truth and falsehood, justice and mob mentality, and accountability and recklessness.
In the context of the Nigerian justice system, this frenzy presents unique challenges that require reflection and strategic responses. Social media is a veritable means of information, and one must acknowledge that it has made life easier in some ways.
It has simplified means of communication and in the hands of students; one can easily sit at home and take lessons on different platforms.
Distance is no longer a barrier to communication as family and friends can communicate at any time of the day. Information can be passed as quickly as possible, saving lives and allowing people to get help.
In other words, it assists us in getting things done and getting them done in a manner never envisaged in the analogue era.
As a university student in 1981, you must visit the library to conduct your research and do your assignments and if the recommended books are not there you are flustered.
You write your project in long hand and plead with the typists in the faculty or department to assist you in typing. Thereafter, you cycle and bind before submitting. Now things are easier. There are source materials on the internet.
Most students have laptops and telephones and can get answers to myriad issues on the go. I have spoken to a few young people about the place of technology in their lives and how technology is deployed in their schools to enhance teaching and learning.
I have also spoken to a few young people about schools operated to teach cybercrimes. These young people see nothing wrong in these schools using technology to equip them with the various skills and techniques to commit crimes.
These schools operate in the day and night and people pay to attend these schools. Some of these young people know they are being initiated into a life of criminality that may end up disastrously. They succumb to it as they see a life of luxury.
Some of them claim that what is needed is a life of smartness and not necessarily hard work. Going to prison and ending up disastrously are part of the challenges and sacrifices attendant to a life of luxury. Some that have “hammered” live ostentatiously.
They buy expensive cars and live in luxurious apartments. You don’t need a “Babalawo” to know they are “yahoo” boys. Because of advances in information technology, many schools organised online lessons during COVID-19 and students remained at home and lost nothing.
However, social media would not command the type of attention or influence it does presently without the myriad of information being conveyed from one place to another.
It is this fast highway of conveying information that has generated so much interest and created so much anxiety, especially in Nigeria. Today, many people have different varieties of telephones that do wonderful things.
There are so many brands and varieties of computers in the market. Programmes are being developed for various things. These programmes help hospitals, the markets, automobile industries, aviation, and schools.
Social media plays a dual role in shaping access to and understanding of the justice system in Nigeria. On one hand, it democratises access to information, bringing legal processes and court proceedings closer to the public.
Cases that were once shrouded in secrecy can now be followed in real-time, enabling citizens to engage with the justice system more directly.
This increased visibility has empowered many Nigerians to demand accountability, foster public debates, and raise awareness about the importance of judicial reforms.
On the other hand, the speed and reach of social media often lead to the spread of misinformation and misinterpretation of legal matters. Complex judicial processes are reduced to oversimplified narratives, with commentary
Our courts and the judiciary are not perfect. Some Judges are hardworking and upright. They sit promptly and administer substantial justice. Some of them work under extreme and unfavourable conditions
often driven by emotion rather than facts. This distortion can erode public trust in the judiciary, as social media trials frequently run parallel to actual court proceedings, creating a perception of bias or injustice even before cases are concluded.
The most dangerous aspect of social media is using the information superhighway to transmit fake narratives, manipulated videos and images, fake information, distorted information, and information designed purposely and specifically to harm individuals, communities, and the state.
Some of the purveyors feed on the vulnerabilities of the people and the thirst for sensationalism. This was one of the reasons why Hon. Justice Chukwudifu Oputa and Hon. Justice Fatai Williams of the Supreme Court championed access to justice, especially for the poor and the vulnerable.
Hon. Justice Fatayi-Williams underscored this point when he stated in the case of Senator Abraham Adesanya v. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria “…I take significant cognizance of the fact that Nigeria is a developing country with a multi-ethnic society and a written Federal Constitution, where rumour-mongering is a pastime of the marketplaces and the construction sites.
To deny any member of such a society who is aware or believes, or is led to believe, that there has been an infraction of any of the provisions of our Constitution … access to the Court of Law to air his grievance on the flimsy excuse (of lack of sufficient interest) is to provide a ready recipe for organised disenchantment with the judicial process.”
Hon. Justice Adah of the Court of Appeal in the case of Ofem v. Usang stated: “It is settled law that a Court of Law does not act on rumours but on evidence properly presented to the Court.
Rumour so called is an information, often a mixture of truth and untruth passed around verbally. It could be indexed as gossip or hearsay. There is nothing concrete that can be gotten from rumours.
Rumours therefore have no place in adjudication.” Manipulated information on social media can lead public officers and institutions to make the wrong choices and decisions detrimental to societal health and harmony.
When social media frenzy is mixed with political calculations and grandstanding, it may produce negative results. Some politicians are more concerned with their popularity and votes and not necessarily with the social, economic, and political consequences of their actions and decisions.
A mobile phone in the hands of criminals and misfits can cause significant damage to the criminal justice system, especially when they realise the power of social media.
Previously, gangs carried out jailbreaks to free their comrades who had been incarcerated. Others snatched their comrades from the police and prison officials on their way to court or even in the court premises.
This involved proper planning and the use of resources and equipment. My hunch is that with the advent of social media frenzy and the love of rumours, these may be tactics of the past.
Manipulated videos and choreographed information may be required to free a convicted criminal. An individual charged to court and convicted of armed robbery may be presented as having stolen a “tuber of yam” and social media will go into overdrive.
Before the manipulation is discovered the convict would have been released. The judiciary in Nigeria has been presented as an institution without empathy and compassion.
It is easy to spin lies against the system and people will believe it. If that is not the case, how come the courts dared to sentence someone who stole ‘palm oil and fowl’ to death?
Is that not the height of injustice and unfeeling? At this point, some Nigerians concluded that the information conveyed on social media was the truth and were waiting for ‘public officials’ to deny it as they must deny it since they have been exposed.
It turned out that the truth was hidden in the record of proceedings and the judgment of the court. It later emerged that the court tried a case of armed robbery, conspiracy, and theft.
By then the politicians had taken sides with the social media frenzy without the benefit of the record of proceedings and the judgment. Five things emerged from the “palm oil and fowl” frenzy.
The first is that the judgment of the court was not brought to the attention of the governor wherein the court recommended that the sentence should be reduced to ten years.
The second thing that emerged from the “palm oil and fowl frenzy” is that the court tried a case of armed robbery. (Armed robbery is complete whether one is robbed with an AK 47 or with a Dane gun or cutlass or stick).
The third is that social media frenzy could produce unintended and unimaginable consequences. Political officeholders must therefore pause, investigate, and act on verifiable facts and evidence.
The fourth is that it would be wrong to act on rumours and later discover that information has been manipulated on social media. The fifth is that the public must be more discerning about the believability of information from social media.
Our courts and the judiciary are not perfect. Some Judges are hardworking and upright. They sit promptly and administer substantial justice.
Some of them work under extreme and unfavourable conditions. Some endure and are labelled as rebellious to the status quo. Must we encourage these judges rather than vilify them? Few judges embarrass the judiciary.
Their judgments cannot be explained. Some of them got to the bench based on filial and political relationships. These judges do not represent the true essence of the Nigerian judiciary.
A system where public opinion, fuelled by social media frenzy, dictates justice is a dangerous precedent. We must encourage the responsible use of technology, fostering critical engagement with judicial matters while preserving the sanctity and independence of the judiciary.
In protecting the integrity of our justice system, we protect the very foundation of our democracy. It is a collective responsibility to balance the power of social media with the need for due process, ensuring that justice is not only done but seen to be done in a manner that upholds the rule of law and safeguards the rights of all citizens.
We must not destroy our democratic institutions. The judiciary is the guardian of our constitution and our rights. If we lose confidence in the judiciary or encourage people to lose faith in the judiciary, non-state actors will begin to administer justice.
Those who tasted the judgment of some non-state actors and are alive are in better positions to share their experiences with us. They are not experiences you would even wish for your enemies.
