NIGERIAResearch
SSRN: Ederagobor urges Nigerian lawyers to treat verification as core competence as AI raises citation risk
In an article posted to SSRN on October 12, 2026, Prince Ederagobor of The Ederagobor Law Firm argues that easier digital access has left a verification gap in Nigerian legal practice: the failure to test propositions against primary sources and confirm authorities remain good law. He says generative AI heightens the risk, citing fabricated-authority incidents in the United States, England and Wales, and South Africa, and proposes making verification routine.
Key points
- Ederagobor posted the preprint on SSRN on October 12, 2026.SSRN
- He argues digital tools lowered access barriers but left a verification gap against primary sources.SSRN
- He attributes the gap to rapid-retrieval habits, weak research incentives and under-assessed education.SSRN
- He cites fabricated-authority incidents in the U.S., England and Wales, and South Africa as cautionary examples.SSRN
- He says generative AI is neither a judgment substitute nor a technology to reject outright.SSRN
- He recommends embedding verification in education, CPD, firm workflows, courts and legal-technology design.SSRN