vol_4_4_chapter_4_part_III

CHAPTER 4: THE SHARIA PENAL CODES
term which may extend to one year or with caning which may extend to forty lashes or
with fine. 437
312. Whoever gives to any public servant any information which he knows or believes to
be false, intending thereby to cause or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause such
public servant:
(a) to do or to omit anything which such public servant ought not to do or omit if
the true state of facts respecting such information is given were known by him; or
(b) to use the lawful power of such public servant to the injury or annoyance of any
person,
shall be punished with a term of imprisonment which may extend to one year, or with caning
which may extend to thirty lashes or with fine. 438
** [Refusing oath or affirmation when duly required by public servant to make it.] 439
313. Whoever being legally bound 440 to answer questions put to him on any subject by any
public servant in the exercise of the lawful powers of such public servant, refuses to answer
any such question, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six
months or with caning which may extend to twenty lashes or with fine. 441
314. Whoever refuses to sign any statement made by him when required to sign that
statement by a public servant legally competent to require that he shall sign that statement,
437 PC: up to 2 years or fine or both. Bauchi: up to 2 years and up to 40 lashes. Gombe, Jigawa, Kano,
Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara: up to 1 year and up to 40 lashes. Kebbi: up to 1 year or fine or both
and up to 40 lashes.
438 PC: up to 1 year or up to £20 fine or both. Bauchi: up to 1 year and up to 40 lashes. Gombe,
Jigawa, Kano, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara: up to 1 year and up to 30 lashes. Kebbi: up to 1 year or fine or
both and up to 30 lashes. Kaduna: ta’azir. Katsina appears to have omitted some words from the
published version of its statute, saying: “such person shall also be liable to caning which may extend to
thirty lashes.” PC has 3 illustrations following this section, of which Sokoto includes the second: “A
falsely informs a public servant that Z has contraband goods in a secret place knowing such
information to be false and knowing that it is likely that the consequence of the information will be a
search of Z’s premises attended with annoyance to Z. A has committed an offence under this section.”
439 PC has here a section, omitted in all SPCs, that reads as follows: “(1) Whoever refuses to bind
himself by an oath or affirmation to state the truth when required so to bind himself by a public
servant legally competent to require that he shall so bind himself, shall be punished with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to twenty pounds or with
both. (2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a witness in a judicial proceeding who,
having been called upon to take an oath or make a solemn affirmation that he will speak the truth
under subsection (1) of section 229 of the Schedule to the Criminal Procedure Code Law, refuses to
take such oath or make such affirmation under the provisions of section 230 of the Schedule to the
Criminal Procedure Code Law.”
440 Kano, Katsina: “Whoever is legally bound . . .”.
441 PC: up to 6 months or up to £20 fine or both. Bauchi: up to 3 months and up to 10 lashes. Gombe,
Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara: up to 6 months and up to 20 lashes. Kebbi: up to 6 months
or fine or both and up to 20 lashes. Kaduna: ta’azir. Kano: up to 6 months and up to 30 lashes; and
Kano adds a second subsection as follows: “(b) If the information which he is legally bound to give [is]
in respect of the commission of an offence or is required for the purpose of preventing the
commission of an offence or in order to arrest an offender shall be punished with imprisonment for a
term which may extend to one year and shall also be liable to caning which may extend to forty
lashes.”
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