From News Editor
Nigerian legal luminary, Mr. Yusuf Olaolu Ali, has warned social media users to desist from publishing fake and unverified news, saying that laws to punish such crimes now exist in Nigeria.
Ali, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), gave the warning while x-raying the benefits and challenges of social media in law practice at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE).
The Senior lawyer who delivered the inaugural lecture of the University’s Law Faculty entitled: “Social Media in Aid of Legal Practice”, highlighted several areas of concerns and improvement the social media has brought to law practice.
He defined certain terms related to social media and the law profession which included the concept of social media, legal practitioners, regulatory bodies, legal practice, legal ethics and profession and legal services among others.
Ali clarified that though social media has many benefits towards advancing law practice, the technology driven mass communication platform has also made the law profession and practice more challenging in a digital age.
Pointing out areas of the challenges of social media in law practice, one of which is in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), he warned that there are laws already in place to punish crimes committed on social media against anyone.
His words: “Despite numerous benefits, social media has also introduced challenges in the field of ADR. These challenges include privacy concerns, mis-information, and the potential for escalation of disputes due to public and viral nature of social media interactions. As social media continues to evolve, the impact on ADR will likely continue to change and grow.
“With the rise of social media, cybercrimes such as hacking, identity theft, online stalking, and bullying have also increased. Criminal laws have been adapted to address these new forms of criminal activity, and law enforcement agencies actively monitor social media platforms to identify and apprehend cyber-criminals.
“ Social media allows users to easily share information and opinions with a wide audience. However, this also opens up the possibility of defamatory statements or false accusations being made against individuals or businesses. Victims of defamation can pursue legal action to protect their reputation and seek compensation, “ he said.
Mr. Ali equally itemized areas in which the social media is enhancing law practice and listed such areas as aiding Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), research and information, online arbitration, online mediation, document sharing and collaboration and online reputation management among others.
To the students, he also listed the gains and challenges of social media in the study of Law, cautioning them against excessive indulgence in social media as that could have adverse effect on their ability to study Law.
He said: “While social media can be a valuable tool for Law Students, it also presents potential drawbacks….Excessive use of social media can lead to time management issues, potentially diverting law students’ focus from their studies and affecting academic performance…Continuous notifications and the lure of social media updates may contribute to distractions and procrastination, hindering students’ ability to concentrate on legal research and coursework.”
The legal icon also listed the gains and disadvantages of using social media by law firms and legal practitioners, urging them to be vigilant in checking the tendencies of the social media to damage their reputation or disclose sensitive or confidential information on their clients or compromise the fairness of justice dispensation in law courts among others.
Assuring the students of more efforts being put in place by his administration in ensuring sound and qualitative education for them, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Abayomi Fasina said his team has done everything required by the regulatory bodies to see to the full accreditation of the Law programme of the University.
He added that a state-of-the-art facility for sound and practical teaching of Law programmes has equally been put in place to satisfy them and other stakeholders. He therefore charged them to be studious, of good conduct so they could be a pride to themselves, the University, their families and the nation at large.
