Delta Govt Sets Up Small Claims Court To Try Debt Recovery Matters Of N5m And Below

The Delta State Judiciary has launched the Small Claims Courts across various judicial divisions in Delta State to dispense justice over debt recovery matters of N5 million naira and below.

This was contained in a statement by Theresa Adiabua Oliko, Director of Public Communication in the State Ministry of Information and made available to BIGPEN NIGERIA (www.bigpenngr.com) on Tuesday.

Following the approval, according to the statement, the Chief Judge of Delta State, Honourable Justice Tessy Diai, has designated some magistrate courts in the state to hear and determine liquidated monetary claims of N5 million and below.

To implement this, the Honourable Chief Judge signed the Delta State Judiciary
Practice Direction on Small Claims 2023, which will guide the operations of the
small courts.

For the avoidance of doubt, the objective of the establishment of the courts is to improve the judicial process by making it easier to resolve liquidated debt recovery disputes involving small claims of N5 million or below.

Accordingly, for all claims filed in small courts, judgments are expected to be delivered within 60 days with an additional 30 days for enforcement.
It is emphasized that the courts also encourage self-representation and adhere to strict timelines for important court events.