shall on non-payment be enforceable by distress, and failing sufficient distress, by imprisonment for a term not
exceeding six months.
(3) When an account is filed in Court under this rule, the Court shall scrutinise the account and if it appears to
the Court that by reason of improper unvouched or unjustifiable entries or otherwise the account is not a full and
proper account, the Court may give written notice to the person filing the account to remedy such defects as
there may be within such time as to the Court may seem reasonable for the purpose and on failure to remedy
such defects within such time, the person who filed such defective account shall be deemed to have failed to file
an account within the meaning and proceedings may be taken against that person accordingly.
(4) The Court may, on the motion of any party interested, or of its own motion, summon any executor or
administrator failing as aforesaid, to show cause why he should not be punished.
(5) The Court may for good cause shown extend the time for such filing of accounts.
(6) Any executor or administrator who has been granted an extension of time to file such accounts and who fails
within such extended time to file such accounts, shall be liable to the penalty set out above and the procedure for
bringing him before the Court shall be as set out above.
(7) It shall be the duty of the Probate Registrar to bring to the notice of the Court the fact that any executor or
administrator has failed to file his accounts as required by this rule.
(8) Such accounts shall be open free of charge to the inspection of all persons satisfying the Probate Registrar
that they are interested in the administration.
(9) In this rule, the word "accounts" includes an inventory, an account of the administration, the vouchers in the
hands of the executor or administrator relating thereto and an affidavit in verification.
42. The duties imposed and powers conferred upon the Court by rules 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 28, 31, 38, 40, and 41(1), (3), (5), (7), and (8) of this Order shall be performed exercised by the Probate
Registrar on behalf of the Court subject to any directions which the Chief Judge may give restricting or enlarging
this delegation to the Probate Registrar of the duties and powers of the Court under this Order:
Provided always that the Court shall have power, either of its own motion or on the application of any person
interested, to review any exercise by the Probate Registrar of the powers delegated to him and on such review
the Court shall have power to cancel anything which may have been done by the Probate Registrar in such
exercise of his delegated powers or otherwise and make such order in the premises as may to the Court seem
just.
43. The Court may refuse to entertain any application under rule 42 of this Order if it considers that there has
been unreasonable delay by the applicant in making his application.
44. The grant of letters of administration under this Order shall be signed by the Probate Registrar on behalf of
the Court.
Order 50
Probate (Non-contentious) Procedure
(1) Any person having in his possession or under his control any paper or writing of any deceased person, being
or purporting to be testamentary shall forthwith deliver the original to the Probate Registrar of the Court.
(2) If any person fails to do so within fourteen days after having had knowledge of the death of the deceased, he
shall be liable to such fine not exceeding one hundred naira as the Court having regard to the condition of such
person so in default and the other circumstances of the case, thinks fit to impose.
2. Where it appears that any paper of the deceased, being or purporting to be testamentary, is in the possession or
under the control, of any person, the Court may in a summary way, whether a suit or proceeding respecting
probate or administration is pending or not, order him to produce the paper bring it into Court.
3. Where is appears that there are reasonable grounds for believing that any person has knowledge of any paper