The Evidence Act 2011 recognizes that any action connected with email is valid in law provided that

the
contents of the email remain untampered with. The act provides that an email is presumed correct as fed
into the sender's computer for transmission but there is no presumption that it has been received or that its
contents were exactly as fed into the computer by the sender. In essence, where an offer or acceptance is
sent by email the actual receipt in exactitude is required for the evidence of such email to be admissible.

Electronic signatures are recognised under Nigerian law by virtue of Section 93(3) of the Evidence Act
which provides for the different ways through which an electronic signature may be proved. If the law
requires a document to be signed, an electronic signature suffices. It is even better to sign electronically
than to leave the document unsigned. The position of law on an unsigned document is settled, it is a
worthless paper without any probative value. The court in Fasehun & Ors. V. Ag Federation held that an
unsigned document is worthless and void. Similarly, in APGA V Al-Makura & Ors the Supreme Court
held that unsigned document is lacking in value and worthless, and inadmissible. The Evidence Act
provides to the effect that where a rule of evidence requires a signature or provides for certain
consequences if a document is not signed; an electronic signature satisfies that rule of law.  Conversely,
an electronic signature may be proved in any manner, including by showing that a procedure existed by
which it is necessary for a person, in order to proceed further with a transaction to have executed a
symbol or security procedure for the purpose of verifying that an electronic record is that of the
person. Perceptibly, an electronic signature is valid in law provided it can be proved in line with the
provisions of the Act and it is indeed made by one of parties to the e-contract. In addition, section 101 of
CAMA, provides that an electronic signature satisfies the requirement for signing of documents requiring
authentication by a company. Furthermore, under section 17(1) of the cybercrime act 2015, electronic
signature are binding in purchases in goods and other commercial transactions.

Although the legal framework for e-contracts and signature in Nigeria remains sketchy and skeletal. The
closest legal principle that can be used to back it up is that of computer-generated evidence which has a
solid legal framework in section 84 of the Evidence Act. The conditions for the admissibility of
computer-generated evidence is provided for in this section and was given judicial blessing in the case of
Kubor & Anor V. Dickson & Ors. The court held that

"Granted, for the purpose of argument, that Exhibits "D" and "L" being computer generated documents or
e-documents down loaded from the internet are not public documents whose secondary evidence are
admissible only by certified true copies then it means that their admissibility is governed by the
provisions of section 84 of the Evidence Act, 2011"

Section 84 (1) provides thus:

"(i) In any proceedings, a statement contained in a document produced by a computer shall be admissible
as evidence of any fact stated in it of which direct oral evidence would be admissible, if it is shown that
the condition in sub-section (2) of this section is satisfied in relation to the Statement and the computer in
question?. The conditions are:-

(a) that the documents containing the statement was produced by the computer during a period over
which the computer was used regularly to store or process the information for the purpose of any
activities regularly carried on over that period, whether for profit or not, by anybody whether corporate
or not or by any individual;

(b) that over that period there was regularly supplied to the computer in the ordinary course of those
activities information of the kind contained in the statement or of the kind from which the information so
contained is derived;
(c) that throughout the material part of that period the computer was operating properly or if not that in
any respect in which it was not operating properly or was out of operation during that point or that
period was not such as to affect the production of the document or the accuracy of its contents; and

(d) that the information contained in the Statement reproduces or is derived from information supplied to
the computer in the ordinary course of those activities" 14