Abuja has its own affidavit portal, separate from Lagos's and the Federal High Court's. It is called VARMS, and here is what it does.
What VARMS is
VARMS is short for the Virtual Affidavit Registration Management System, reachable at varms.fcthighcourt.gov.ng. It belongs to the FCT High Court, and a 2025 review of Nigerian high courts offering e-affidavits lists it among them.
The name gives away its scope: registering affidavits, not the court's wider case-filing system.
What the court has and has not published
The FCT High Court has not published a fee schedule for VARMS. If you reach the platform, whatever it quotes you at the point of payment is the figure to go by, not a number from an article like this one.
The court's separate e-filing system, at cms.fcthighcourt.gov.ng, did not respond when this was checked in September 2026. That system handles case filings generally and is distinct from VARMS.
How VARMS fits with the rest of the FCT court system
The FCT High Court also keeps a published list of commissioner-for-oaths locations across the territory, from Apo to Zuba. VARMS is the online option; that list is the in-person one.
Which route suits you depends on how comfortable you are registering online and how urgently you need the affidavit, not on one being officially preferred over the other.
Getting started on VARMS
Other e-affidavit portals typically involve an account, a chosen affidavit type, a form, payment, and an oath step before the document is issued. The FCT court has not published a walkthrough confirming VARMS follows the same steps, unlike the Federal High Court for its own portal.
If a step is unclear once you are on the platform, the FCT High Court's registry is the right place to ask, rather than guessing.
Why the FCT has two separate systems at all
It is worth understanding why VARMS and the general e-filing system are not one platform. Affidavits are a narrow, high-volume task: one person, one form, one oath. Case filings involve lawyers, multiple parties and ongoing court processes.
Splitting them lets the court build a simpler tool for the affidavit side, without forcing an individual swearing a single affidavit to learn a system meant for litigation. The trade-off is that you need to know which one you actually want before you search for it.
Common mistakes
- Confusing VARMS with the FCT High Court's general e-filing system. They are different platforms for different jobs.
- Expecting a published price list. None exists yet; the platform's own payment screen is the source to trust.
- Not checking the commissioner-for-oaths list as an alternative. It is worth knowing this option exists if the portal is not working for you.
Our courts and affidavits hub links the rest of this series, and where and how affidavits work covers the process more broadly. A vetted partner firm can prepare and file an affidavit of loss for you once you know which portal to use.