Lawyer escapes jail over noise-making in Delta court

By BOLU-OLU ESHO, Akure

A Federal High Court judge in Warri Judicial Division, Justice Okon Abange, has warned lawyers in Warri against the level of un­precedented noise-making around court premises that disrupted court proceed­ings last week.

During the court session and while proceedings was ongoing, some lawyers were making noises.

The presiding judge was forced to send the court registrar twice to warn the lawyers within the prem­ises to stop making noises but to no avail.

Justice Abange, who found it difficult to con­tinue with the proceed­ings, sent his police order­ly to arrest anyone found making a noise on the corridor of the court de­spite the court registrar’s warning.

A lawyer was, therefore, arrested while others ran away.

When brought before the judge, it was discov­ered that he was a lawyer.

Justice Abange was dis­appointed, but rather than sending him to prison, de­cided to warn him, asking him to go and sin no more.

Noise-making while pro­ceedings is ongoing in the court room is a contempt in the face of the law.

But there was a twist in the incident as the Warri branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) decid­ed to issue a boycott order of the judge’s court rather than warning its members.

It also went further to petition the CJN.
Senior lawyers, who reacted to the issue, con­demned the Warri NBA and commended the judge for not sending the erring lawyer to prison.

Some of the lawyers said it would be madness for lawyers to be making noises around the court while proceedings are on­going. (Sunday Independent)