Ontological Engineering for Nigerian Legal Information Systems: A Framework for Indigenous Jurisprudential Knowledge Representation

This study developed an ontological engineering framework for representing indigenous jurisprudential knowledge within Nigerian legal information systems. Formal legal information systems in Nigeria have been modelled on common law knowledge structures, creating significant representation gaps for customary law, Islamic law, and community dispute resolution knowledge that constitute a substantial portion of legal practice in northern and rural Nigeria. A design science research paradigm was employed, combining knowledge engineering methods, legal informatics theory, and qualitative data gathered through expert interviews with legal information managers, customary court judges, Islamic law scholars, and legal ontology specialists in Sokoto, Kano, Enugu, and Lagos. The study designed, implemented, and evaluated a prototype ontology for Nigerian customary and Islamic legal knowledge, testing its expressivity and interoperability against an existing national legal database. The resulting framework makes an original contribution to legal informatics, knowledge representation theory, and the information architecture of pluralistic legal systems in postcolonial contexts. Keywords: ontological engineering, legal information systems, customary law, Nigeria, knowledge representation.