President Bola Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Justice Sector Reform and ICT/Digital Technology, Fernandez Marcus-Obiene, has launched JusticeTechNG 2025, Nigeria’s first national hackathon and accelerator program focused on transforming the justice system through technology.
Unveiled in a statement on Wednesday, the initiative offers a prize pool of N22 million and seeks to address long-standing challenges in court operations, legal accessibility, and justice system transparency by harnessing innovative digital solutions.
The program will kick off with a three-day hackathon in Lagos from June 3 to 5, followed by a four-week accelerator running from June 10 to July 10. It will culminate in a Demo Day, where finalists will pitch their solutions to a panel comprising judges, government officials, investors, and development partners for potential seed funding and pilot opportunities.
Applications are now open to teams of 3–5 people and must be submitted by May 25, 2025. Selected teams will be invited to the in-person hackathon in Lagos.
Marcus-Obiene said the project is designed to empower young Nigerians to develop practical solutions to everyday justice sector problems. “JusticeTechNG is about real impact. It’s about creating local, tech-driven solutions that improve how our courts, police stations, prisons, and legal aid systems function,” he said.
Participants will focus on areas such as access to justice, court administration, legal literacy, crime reporting, prison reintegration, and transparency in the justice sector. Winners will receive not only cash prizes but also technical support and the opportunity to pilot their solutions with government and civil society partners.
The initiative is being coordinated by a cross-disciplinary team led by tech policy expert Abiola Jimoh, who described it as more than a competition. “This is a national strategy to develop scalable innovations that justice institutions can adopt and use. We’re building for long-term reform,” Jimoh stated.
The program is backed by an advisory board of respected figures from the judiciary, legal profession, government, academia, and the civic tech community. Their role, the presidency said, is to ensure strategic guidance and alignment with broader national reform goals.
