Court Clerk Ansa Ansa Ani Selects Warrant Chiefs for Odot Community

For want of their own Native Court, the Odot people (between Ikoneto and Okoyon in the Cross River basin) took all cases to Ansa Ansa Ani, the clerk of the Ikoneto Minor Court, who had no legal right to try them. To end this anomalous situation, Ani went to Odot on 6 July 1898 and, in consultation with the village head, selected six men he thought competent to hold warrants. This example illustrates that the selection of Warrant Chiefs was not always made by political officers; sometimes the initiative was taken by a court clerk or other government agent.