Section 330-350 of the Nigerian Criminal Code
Section 330 to 350 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act is under Chapter 28 (Offences endangering life or health) of the Act.
Section 330 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Disabling in order to commit felony or misdemeanour
Any person who, by any means calculated to choke, suffocate or strangle, and with intent to commit or
to facilitate the commission of a felony or misdemeanor, or to facilitate the flight of an offender after
the commission or attempted commission of a felony or misdemeanor, renders or attempts to render
any person incapable of resistance, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life, with or
without caning.
[30 of 1960.]
Section 331 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Stupefying in order to commit felony or misdemeanour
Any person who, with intent to commit or to facilitate the commission of a felony or misdemeanor or to
facilitate the flight of an offender after the commission or attempted commission of a felony or
misdemeanor, administers or attempts to administer any stupefying or overpowering drug or thing to
any person, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life.
Section 332 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Acts intended to cause grievous harm or prevent arrest
Any person who, with intent to maim, disfigure or disable, any person, or to do some grievous harm to
any person, or to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person‐
(1) unlawfully wounds or does any grievous harm to any person by any means whatever; or
(2) unlawfully attempts in any manner to strike any person with any kind of projectile or with a
spear, sword, knife, or other dangerous or offensive weapon; or
(3) unlawfully causes any explosive substance to explode; or
(4) sends or delivers any explosive substance or other dangerous or noxious thing to any person;
or
(5) causes any such substance or thing to be taken or received by any person; or
(6) puts any corrosive fluid or any destructive or explosion substances in any place; or
(7) unlawfully casts or throws any such fluid or substances at or upon any person, or otherwise
applies any such fluid or substances to the person of any person,
is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life.
Section 333 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Preventing escape from wreck
Any person who unlawfully‐
(1) prevents or obstructs any person who is on board of, or is escaping from a vessel which is in
distress or wrecked, in his endeavours to save his life; or
(2) obstructs any person in his endeavours to save the life of any person so situated,
is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life.
Section 334 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Intentionally endangering safety of person travelling by railway
Any person who, with intent to injure or to endanger the safety of any person travelling by any railway,
whether a particular person or not‐
(1) places anything on the railway; or
(2) deals with the railway, or with anything whatever upon or near the railway, in such a manner
as to affect or endanger the free and safe use of the railway or the safety of any such person; or
(3) shoots or throws anything at, into, or upon, or causes anything to come into contact with,
any person or thing on the railway; or
(4) shows any light or signal, or in any way deals with any existing light or signal, upon or near
the railway; or
(5) by any omission to do any act which it is his duty to do causes the safety of any such person
to be endangered,
is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life, with or without caning.
[30 of 1960.]
Section 335 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Grievous harm
Any person who unlawfully does grievous harm to another is guilty of a felony and is liable to
imprisonment for seven years.
Section 336 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Attempting to injure by explosive substances
Any person who unlawfully, and with intent to do any harm to another, puts any explosive substance in
any place whatever, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years.
Section 337 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Maliciously administering poison with intent to harm
Any person who unlawfully, and with intent to injure or annoy another, causes any poison or other
noxious thing to be administered to, or taken by, any person, and thereby endangers his life, or does
him some grievous harm, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years.
Section 338 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Wounding and similar acts
Any person who‐
(1) unlawfully wounds another; or
(2) unlawfully, and with intent to injure or annoy any person, causes any poison or other
noxious thing to be administered to, or taken by, any person,
is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years.
Section 339 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Failure to supply necessaries
Any person who, being charged with the duty of providing for another the necessaries of life, without
lawful excuse fails to do so, whereby the life of that other is or is likely to be endangered, or his health is
or is likely to be permanently injured, is guilty of a felony and liable to imprisonment for three years.
The offender cannot be arrested without warrant.
Section 340 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Endangering life or health of apprentices or servants
Any person who, being charged as a master or mistress with the duty of providing necessary food,
clothing, or lodging, for a servant or apprentice under the age of sixteen years, unlawfully fails to
perform that duty, or in any other manner does any harm or causes any harm to be done to such
servant or apprentice, whereby, in either case, the life of such servant or apprentice is or is likely to be
endangered, or his health is likely to be permanently injured, is guilty of a felony and is liable to
imprisonment for three years.
The offender cannot be arrested without warrant.
Section 341 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Abandoning or exposing children
Any person who unlawfully abandons or exposes a child under the age of seven years, in such a manner
that any grievous harm is likely to be caused to it, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for
five years.
Section 342 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Setting man‐trap
Any person who sets or places any spring‐gun, man‐trap or other engine calculated to destroy human
life or to inflict grievous harm, or causes any such thing to be set or placed with the intent that it may kill
or inflict grievous harm upon a trespasser or any person coming in contact with it, or sets or places any
such thing in any such place and in any such manner that it is likely to cause any such result, is guilty of a
felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years.
Any person who knowingly permits any such spring‐gun, man‐trap, or other engine, which has been set
or placed by another person in any such place and in any such manner that it is likely to cause any such
result, to continue to be so set or placed in any place which is then in, or afterwards comes into, his
possession or occupation, is deemed to have set and placed the gun, trap, or engine, with the intent
aforesaid.
This section of this Code, does not make it unlawful to set any gun or trap such as is usually set for the
purpose of destroying vermin, or to set any spring‐gun, man‐trap, or engine, at night in a dwelling‐house
for the protection of the dwelling‐house.
The offender cannot be arrested without warrant.
Section 343 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Reckless and negligent acts
(1) Any person who in a manner so rash or negligent as to endanger human life or to be likely to
cause harm to any other person‐
(a) drives any vehicle or rides on any public way; or
(b) navigates, or takes part in the navigation or working of, any vessel; or
(c) does any act with fire or any combustible matter, or omits to take precautions against
any probable danger from any fire or any combustible matter in his possession; or
(d) omits to take precautions against any probable danger from any animal in his
possession; or
(e) gives medical or surgical treatment to any person whom he has undertaken to treat; or
(f) dispenses, supplies, sells, administers, or gives away, any medicine, or poisonous or
dangerous matter; or
(g) does any act with respect to, or omits to take proper precautions against any probable
danger from, any machinery of which he is solely or partly in charge; or
(h) does any act with respect to, or omits to take proper precautions against any probable
danger from, any explosive in his possession,
is guilty of a misdemeanor and is liable to imprisonment for one year.
(2) Any person who conveys or causes to be conveyed, for hire, any person by water, in a vessel
in such a state or so loaded as to be unsafe, is guilty of a misdemeanor and is liable to imprisonment for
one year.
Section 344 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Negligent acts causing harm
Any person who unlawfully does any act, or omits to do any act which it is his duty to do, not being an
act or omission specified in section 343 of this Code, by which act or omission harm is caused to any
person, is guilty of a misdemeanor and is liable to imprisonment for six months.
Section 345 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Sending unseaworthy ship to sea
(1) Any person who sends or attempts to send or is party to sending or attempting to send a
Nigerian ship to sea in such an unseaworthy state that the life of any person is likely to be thereby
endangered, is guilty of a misdemeanor, unless he proves either that he used all reasonable means to
insure her being sent to sea in a seaworthy state, or that her going to sea in such an unseaworthy state
was in the circumstances reasonable and justifiable.
[L.N. 112 of 1964.]
(2) The master of a Nigerian ship who knowingly takes the same to sea in such an unseaworthy
state that the life of any person is likely to be thereby endangered, is guilty of a misdemeanor, unless he
proves that her going to sea in such an unseaworthy state was in the circumstances reasonable and
justifiable.
(3) Any person convicted of a misdemeanor under this section of this Code is liable to
imprisonment for two years.
(4) A prosecution shall not be instituted in respect of an offence under this section of this Code
otherwise than by or with the consent of a law officer.
Section 346 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Endangering safety of persons travelling by railway
Any person who, by any unlawful act, or by any omission to do any act which it is his duty to do, causes
the safety of any person travelling by any railway to be endangered, is guilty of a misdemeanor and is
liable to imprisonment for two years.
Section 347 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Endangering steamships by tampering with machinery
Any person who, being a person having actual control over a steam vessel, or over any part of the
machinery of a steam vessel, does any act or makes any omission or is privy to any act or omission with
respect to the machinery of the vessel, whereby to his knowledge, the safety of any person on board the
vessel is or is likely to be endangered, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years.
The offender cannot be arrested without warrant.
Section 348 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
The like by engineers
Any person who is an engineer, or one of the engineers, in charge of the machinery of a steam vessel at
any time when any act is done or omitted to be done by any other person with respect to the machinery
of the vessel, whereby the safety of any person on board the vessel is, or is likely to be endangered, is
guilty of a simple offence and is liable to a fine of two hundred naira.
It is a defence to a charge of the offence defined in this section of this Code to prove that the act or
omission was done or made without the knowledge of the accused person, and without any neglect or
default on his part.
Section 349 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Evading laws as to shipping dangerous goods
Any person who knowingly sends by any vessel, or carries in any vessel, any explosive substance, or any
acid, or other thing of a dangerous or destructive nature, under false description of the substance or
thing or with a false description of the sender thereof, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment
for three years.
The offender cannot be arrested without warrant.
Section 350 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act
Landing, etc., explosives Any person who‐
(1) being charged by law with any duty respecting the shipping, unshipping, landing, putting off
shore, conveyance, delivery or storage of any explosive substance, or of any acid, or other thing of a
dangerous or destructive nature, from any vessel, fails to perform that duty; or
(2) being concerned in the shipping, unshipping, landing, putting off shore, conveyance, delivery
or storage of any such substance, acid or thing, violates the provisions of the laws relating to such
shipping, unshipping, landing, putting off shore, conveyance, delivery or storage,
is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years.
This section of this Code does not apply to any explosive, acid or other thing, the property of the State,
while it is under the control of an officer of the armed forces of Nigeria.
The offender cannot be arrested without warrant.
