Section 4: Conditions on which creditor may petition (As amemended by Section 3 of Bankruptcy (Amendment) Act 1992.)

(1) Subject to the provisions of section 7 of this act, a creditor shall not be entitled to present a bankruptcy petition against a debtor unless-
(a) the debt owing by the debtor to the petitioning creditor, or if two or more creditors join in the petition, the aggregate amount of debts owing to the several petitioning creditors, is not less than N2,000;
(b) the debt is a liquidated sum, payable either immediately or at some certain future time;
(c) the act of bankruptcy on which the petition is grounded has occurred within three months before the presentation of the petition; and
(d) the debtor is ordinarily resident in Nigeria, or within a year before the date of the presentation of the petition, has ordinarily resided or had a dwelling-house or place of business in Nigeria, or has carried on business in Nigeria, personally or by means of an agent or manager, or is or within the said period has been a member of a firm or partnership of persons which has carried on business in Nigeria by means of a partner or partners or an agent or manager.
(2) If the petitioning creditor is a secured creditor he shall in his petition either state that he is willing to give up his security for the benefit of the creditors in the event of the debtor being adjudged bankrupt, or give an estimate of the value of his security; in the latter case he may be admitted as a petitioning creditor to the extent of the balance of the debt due to him after deducting the value so estimated in the same manner as if he were an unsecured creditor.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law or enactment and without prejudice to any other rights of the debtor, a creditor who is entitled to present a bankruptcy petition on or before the end of December, 1992 shall not be disentitled from presenting a petition by virtue only of the provisions of section 4 (1) (c) of this Act if the petition is presented before the expiration of a period of six months.