Section 17: Penalties for unprofessional conduct, etc.

(1) Where-
(a) a person fully or provisionally registered under this Act is convicted by any court of law or tribunal in Nigeria or elsewhere having power to award imprisonment for an offence (whether or not an offence punishable with imprisonment) which in the opinion of the Disciplinary Tribunal is incompatible with the status of a registered builder; or
(b) a person temporarily registered under this Act is likewise so convicted in circumstances such that the disciplinary committee is satisfied that his name ought to be removed from the register; or
(c) the disciplinary tribunal is satisfied that the name of any person has been fraudulently registered,
the disciplinary tribunal may, if it thinks fit, give a direction reprimanding that person if fully registered, or whether or not fully registered, ordering the Registrar to strike his name off the relevant part of the register.
(2) The Disciplinary Tribunal may, if it thinks fit, defer or further defer its decision as to the giving of a direction under subsection (1) of this section until a subsequent meeting of the Disciplinary Tribunal; but-
(a) no decision shall be deferred under this subsection for periods exceeding two years in the aggregate; and
(b) no person shall be a member of the Disciplinary Tribunal for the purposes of reaching a decision which has been deferred or further deferred, unless he was present as a member of the Disciplinary Tribunal when the decision was deferred.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, a person shall not be treated as convicted as mentioned in paragraph (a) of that subsection, unless the conviction stands at a time when no appeal or further appeal is pending or may (without extension of time) be brought in connection with the conviction.
(4) When the Disciplinary Tribunal gives a direction under subsection (1) of this section, the Disciplinary Tribunal shall cause notice of the direction to be served on the person to whom it relates.
(5) The person to whom such a direction relates may, at any time within twenty-eight days from the date of service on him of the notice of the direction, appeal against the direction to the Federal High Court; and the Disciplinary Tribunal may appear as respondent to the appeal and, for the purposes of enabling directions to be given as to the costs of the appeal and of proceedings before the Disciplinary Tribunal, shall be deemed to be a part thereto, whether or not it appears on the hearing of the appeal.
(6) A direction of the Disciplinary Tribunal under subsection (1) of this section shall take effect where-
(a) no appeal under this section is brought against the direction within the time limited for the appeal, on the expiration of that time;
(b) such an appeal is brought and is withdrawn or struck out for want of prosecution, on the withdrawal or striking out of the appeal;
(c) such an appeal is brought and is not withdrawn or struck out as aforesaid, if and when the appeal is dismissed.
(7) A person whose name is removed from the register in pursuance of a direction of the Disciplinary Tribunal under this section shall not be entitled to be registered again except in pursuance of a direction in that behalf given by the Disciplinary Tribunal on the application of that person; and a direction under this section for the removal of a person's name from the register may prohibit an application under this subsection by that person until the expiration of such period from the date of the direction (and where he has duly made such an application, from the date of his last application) as may be specified in the direction.