By Suleiman Yakubu

Chief Judge of Niger State Justice, Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik, has announced the operations of special courts for small claims in the Niger State Judiciary.
The Special Small Claims Court was earlier established through a Gazette, which came into operation October 10, 2018.
To this end, the general public, litigants, and legal practitioners, particularly the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), have been directed to approach the Special Courts to file their processes.
The establishment of the special courts was part of the efforts of the chief judge to decongest the workloads of the high courts in the state.
This was contained in a press release signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of the Niger State Judiciary, Alhaji Abubakar Ahmed Nami, and made available to Newsline, stating that the courts were now in operation in five out of the 25 local government areas of Niger State.
According to the press release, the four local governments were Senior Magstrate Court 2 Bida, Chief Magstrate Court Kontagora, Chief Magstrate Court 2 Suleja, and Magistrate Court 7 Minna, adding that plans were on ground to establish these courts across the remaining 21 local government areas.
The statement further disclosed that the special small claims courts were established via the Niger State Gazette No. 8 Vol. 23 of October 10, 2018.
Abubakar Nami quoted the chief judge as saying that lawyers and their litigants have been directed that cases below three million naira (N3,000.000) should be filed in the established courts and "not in the high courts for speedy dispensation of justice.".
The Special Small Claims Courts, according to the Chief Judge, were aimed at making the high courts concentrate on more serious cases and the business of the courts, calling on the public to abide by the directives.

By Suleiman Yakubu

Niger State Government has entered into a N50 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the supply of sesame seeds, soy beans, maize, and paddy rice to Tropical General Investment Limited.
The agreement was sealed yesterday at the Niger State Government Lodge in Abuja. Tropical General Investment is the owner of Union Bank of Nigeria.
The Chairman of Niger Food Security Systems and Log Limited, Mr. Sammy Adigun, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties, Dr. Murtala Bagana, signed on behalf of the state government, while the Director of Tropical General Investment, Sadiq Kassim, signed on behalf of Union Bank.
Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, who described the agreement as historic, expressed optimism that it would allow the state to create a lot of value chains from the production, cropping, and processing of other agricultural produce.
He said the state's agricultural potential was enormous, reassuring the partners that the state will meet the supply needs of the company as contained in the agreement and expressed hope for a continuous partnership with the financial institution.
The governor disclosed further that 100 million euros have been invested into the Sun-Farm initiative of the state government to have greenhouses covered by solar-powered cells for sustainable farms.
Chairman, Union Bank, and Executive Vice Chairman, Tropical General Investment, Alh. Farouq Gumel, said the agreement with the state government will help the company meet global needs.
Alhaji Gumel, while assuring the governor that it would deliver on its side of the deal, thanked him for the opportunity to pilot an idea that has been conceived for many years.
Chairman, Niger Food Security Systems and Log Limited, Sammy Adigun, said the state will supply 500,000 metric tonnes of the four crops to Tropical Investment in the next year and one million metric tonnes in two years.