Page "Nnewi" Paragraph 16

The ancient legal system of Nnewi was not based upon a written law.

It was purely a natural law, involving custom, tradition, and civil and criminal cases.

The legal process in Nnewi passed through the labyrinth of extended family system.

A report against an offender or a criminal in the first instance, had to be made to the head of his family at his ancestral home known as obi.

The head of the family would invite elders and minor obis from his extended family unit to sit in judgment, while the complainant would also invite the elders and minor obis from his extended family side, if both of them were not from the same family.

This obi would serve as the court of the first instance, depending, of course, on the nature of the offense or crime allegedly committed.

The trial might end here, if both the complainant and the accused were satisfied with the judgment given, or they might take the case to the next senior obi of the same extended ' family, in ascending order, until, probably, the matter got to the highest obi in the lineage.

If the complainant was not satisfied at this point, he would appeal to the obi of the quarter and the leaders of his family could be summoned to defend their judgment