Judicial enforcement of secured credit transactions in twenty-first century Nigeria: problems, pitfalls and the way forward
Abstract
Secured credit transactions have become increasingly popular, especially among institutional lenders, for their obvious advantages over unsecured ones. Although there are multifarious ways of fashioning security for the due performance of commercial obligations, whatever form it may take, in modern societies judicial intervention is almost always required for its enforcement. This article appraises the performance of the Nigerian courts in the last century and finds that judicial enforcement of secured credit transactions has been largely bedevilled by such obstacles as corruption, inefficiency, lack of expertise, and inadequacy of facilities and personnel. It, therefore, underscores the need for attitudinal change, reorientation and retraining on the part of judicial personnel, retooling of the civil justice apparatus and, crucially, a radical shift from the adjudicatory processes to alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, in line with the current global trends.