Section 6 Public Order Act

Section 6 of the Public Order Act of Nigeria is about Prohibition of quasi military organisations. 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.

Prohibition of quasi military organisations

(1) If any association (whether corporate or unincorporate)-
(a) organises or trains or equips persons (whether or not members or adherents of any such association) for the purpose of enabling any such person to be employed in usurping the functions of the Nigeria Police Force or of the armed forces of the Federation; or

(b) organises and trains or equips persons (whether or not members or adherents of any such association) either for the purpose of enabling such persons to be employed for the use or display of physical force in promoting any political objective, or in such manner as to arouse reasonable apprehension that they are organised and either trained or equipped for that purpose;

then any person who takes part in the control or management of the association or in so organising or training or equipping any such person as aforesaid, or who undertakes or is engaged to be so organised, trained or equipped, shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) No prosecution shall be instituted under this section without the consent of the Attorney-General of the State.

(3) If, upon application made by a superior police officer it appears to the High Court of that State that any association is an association which organises, trains or equips any person (whether or not members or adherents thereof) in contravention of the provisions of this section, the court may make such order as appears necessary to prevent any disposition, without the leave of the court, of property held by or for the association and, in accordance with the applicable rules of court, may direct any inquiry and report to be made as to any such property as aforesaid and as to the affairs of the association, and may make further orders as appear to the court to be just and equitable for the application of such property-

(a) in or toward the discharge of the liabilities of the association lawfully incurred before the date of the application or since that date with the approval of the court;
(b) in or towards the repayment of moneys to person who became subscribers or contributors to the association in good faith and without knowledge of any such contravention as aforesaid;
(c) in or towards any costs incurred in connection with any such inquiry and report as aforesaid or in winding up or dissolving the association;

and may order that any property which is not directed by the court to be so applied as aforesaid shall be forfeited to the state.

(4) In any criminal or civil proceedings under this section, proof of things done or words written, spoken or published (whether or not in the presence of any party to the proceedings) by any person taking part in the control or management of an association or in organising, training or equipping persons (whether or not members or adherents thereof) shall be admissible as evidence of the purposes for which, or the manner in which, such persons (including where applicable members or adherents of the association) were organised, or trained or equipped.

(5) If a Magistrate or Upper Area Court Judge is satisfied by information on oath that there is reasonable ground for suspecting that an offence against this section has been committed, and that evidence of the commission thereof is to be found at any premises or place specified in the information, he may, on an application made by a superior police officer, grant a search warrant authorising any such officer named in the warrant together with any other persons specified in the warrant and any other police officers to enter the premises or place at any time within 7 days from the date of the warrant, if necessary by force, and to search the premises or place and every person found therein, and to seize anything found on the premises or place or on any such person which the officer has reasonable ground for suspecting to be evidence of the commission of such an offence as aforesaid:

Provided that no woman shall, in pursuance of a warrant issued under the provisions of this subsection, be searched except by a woman.

(6) Any person found guilty of an offence under this section shall on conviction-
(a) in the case of a person who is proved to have taken part in the organisation or management of an association or in organising, training, or equipping any person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) of this section, be liable to a fine of N5,000 or imprisonment for 2 years or to both such fine and imprisonment; and

(b) in the case of a person who is proved to have undertaken or been engaged in being organised, trained or equipped, be liable to a fine of N11,000 or imprisonment for 6 months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

See also: Section 5 Public Order Act