Section 12 Public Order Act
Section 12 of the Public Order Act of Nigeria is about Interpretation of the Act. The Public order Act is an Act to repeal all public order laws in the States of the Federation and to replace them with a Federal Act for the purpose of maintaining public order and to prohibit the formation of quasi-military organisations, regulate the use of uniforms and other matters ancillary thereto.
Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
“assembly” means a meeting of five or more persons;
“association” means any body of persons who agree to act together for any common purpose and includes any political party as defined in section 76 of the Electoral Act;
“place of public resort” means any highway, public park or garden and any sea-beach, and any public bridge, road, lane, foot-way or pathway, square, court, alley or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not, and includes any open space or any building or other structure to which, for the time being, the public have or are permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise;
“police officer” includes an officer of an equivalent rank in other security agencies;
“public meeting” includes any assembly in a place of public resort and any assembly which the public or any section thereof is permitted to attend, whether on payment or otherwise, including any assembly in a place of public resort for the propagation of any religion or belief whatsoever of a religious or anti-religious nature but, notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, does not include-
(a) any regular religious service conducted in a mosque, church or any building or other structure customarily used for lawful worship of any description;
(b) any charitable, social or sporting gatherings;
(c) any meeting convened by a department of any government in the Federation or any other body established by law for its own purposes; or
(d) any lawful public entertainment.
“public procession” means a procession in a place of public resort.
(2) In this Act, the following expressions have the meanings respectively assigned thereto by the Police Act, that is to say “Commissioner of Police”; “superior police officer”; “District Police Officer” and “police officer”.
See also: Section 11 Public Order Act
