vol_4_4_chapter_4_part_III

CILS HARMONISED SHARIA PENAL CODE ANNOTATED
167. Whoever, being in any manner entrusted with property or with any dominion over
property in his capacity as a public servant or in the way of his business as a banker, factor,
broker, legal practitioner or agent, commits criminal breach of trust in respect of that
property, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years
and with fine and shall also be liable to caning which may extend to sixty lashes. 224
Receiving Stolen Property
168. Property, the possession whereof has been transferred by theft or by extortion or by
hirabah, and property, which has been criminally misappropriated or in respect of which
criminal breach of trust has been committed, is stolen property, whether the transfer has
been made or the misappropriation or breach of trust has been committed within the State
or elsewhere; but if such property subsequently comes into possession of a person legally
entitled to the possession thereof, it then ceases to be stolen property. 225
169. Whoever dishonestly receives or retains any stolen property knowing or having reason
to believe the same to be stolen property, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to caning of fifty lashes. 226
170. Whoever voluntarily assists in concealing or disposing of or making away with
property which he knows or has reason to believe to be stolen property, shall be punished
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to
caning of thirty lashes. 227
171. Whoever knowingly has in his possession or under his control anything which is
reasonably suspected of having been stolen or unlawfully obtained and who does not give an
account to the satisfaction of a court of justice as to how he came by the same, shall be
punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with
both. 228
172. Whoever by deceiving any person:
Cheating
(a) fraudulently or dishonestly induces the person so deceived to deliver any property
to any person or to consent that any person shall retain any property; or
224 Kano and Katsina omit this section entirely, but Kano includes a substitute among its provisions on
theft, see note to §145 above. Punishments: PC: 14 years and fine. Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Yobe,
Zamfara: 15 years/fine. Kebbi: 5 years/fine. Sokoto: 7 years and fine, adding: “Nothing shall preclude
the court from imposing or making an order for the payment of restitution.” Kaduna: ta’azir.
225 PC has “robbery” where hirabah is here and in all SPCs. Brigandage being included within hirabah, a
separate section of PC prescribing punishment for receiving property stolen in the commission of
brigandage is then omitted here and in all SPCs except Bauchi. As to Bauchi, see note to next section.
226 PC: 14 years or fine or both. Bauchi: 14 years and 40 lashes. Bauchi adds subsection (b) as follows:
“Whoever dishonestly receives or retains any stolen property, the possession whereof he knows or has
reason to believe to have been transferred by the commission of brigandage, or dishonestly receives,
from a person whom he knows or has reason to believe to belong or have belonged to a gang of
brigands, property, which he knows or has reason to believe to have been stolen, shall be punished
with imprisonment for life or any less term and shall also be liable to fine.” This subsection (b)
corresponds to PC §318, omitted here and in all other SPCs. But Bauchi does not separately define
“brigandage”, cf. note to §151 above.
227 PC: 5 years or fine or both. Gombe: 7 years/30 lashes. Jigawa: 5 years/50 lashes. Kaduna: ta’azir.
228 PC: 6 months or fine or both. Kaduna: ta’azir.
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