Courts of Equity Brought Under Consular Legal Control

The measure of 1872 brought the Courts of Equity in the Oil Rivers under the legal control of the British consul, vesting in them administration of the Oil Rivers area. This step was driven primarily by financial convenience since the members of the Court of Equity received no pay. The Courts of Equity had previously operated as informal bodies comprising African merchants and European traders who regulated commerce and settled disputes in the coastal trading ports.