OKU
V.
THE STATE
COKER, J.S.C. (Delivering the Leading Judgment) Ene Ene Oku, a legal practitioner, has appealed to this court against his conviction by Bassey, J. (High Court, Calabar). The appellant was on the 12th June, 1969, so found guilty of contravening the provisions of Order XVI, rule 4 of the Eastern Nigeria High Court Rules, 1955 (operative in the South Eastern State), which the learned judge seems to have treated as a form of contempt of court, and sentenced to a fine of N11. The circumstances leading to the conviction and sentence of the appellant are not unusual but the complaint before us turned on the approach of the learned trial judge to the whole matter. An accused person in a criminal proceeding (Charge No. C/2C/69) pending before the court, Jerome Agabi, had apparently retained the services of the present appellant. Pursuant to this the appellant had filed in court and before the learned trial judge a motion dated the 21st April, 1969, asking the court to grant bail to Jerome Agab…