Section 14: Penalties for unprofessional conduct

(1) Where –
(a) a person is adjudged by the Disciplinary Tribunal to be guilty of unprofessional conduct in any professional respect,
(b) a person is convicted by any court or tribunal in Nigeria or elsewhere having the power to award imprisonment for an offence, whether or not punishable with imprisonment, which, in the opinion of the Disciplinary Tribunal is incompatible with the conduct required of a member of the profession, or
(c) the Disciplinary Tribunal is satisfied that the name of the person has been fraudulently registered after the person has been allowed to defend himself before the Disciplinary Tribunal, the Disciplinary Tribunal shall, after receiving the confirmation of its decision from the Council, convey a direction reprimanding the person or ordering the registrar to strike his name off the relevant part of the register.
(2) The Disciplinary Tribunal may, if deems fit, defer or further defer its decision as to the giving of a direction under subsection (1) until a subsequent meeting of the Disciplinary Tribunal, but no -
(a) decision shall be deferred under this subsection for periods exceeding three months from the conclusion of proceedings in the case; and
(b) person shall be a member of the Disciplinary Tribunal for the purpose of reaching a decision that 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 purpose of subsection (1) (b), a person shall not be treated as a convict unless the conviction stands at a time where no appeal or further appeal is pending or may, without extension of time, be brought in connection with the direction.
(4) Where the Disciplinary Tribunal gives a direction under subsection (l), the Disciplinary Tribunal shall cause notice of the direction to be served on the person to whom it relates.
(5) The person to whom a direction relates may, at any time within 28 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 shall appear as the respondent to the appeal and, for the purpose of enabling directive to be given as to the costs of the appeal and proceeding before the Federal High Court, the Disciplinary Tribunal shall be deemed to be a party to the appeal whether or not it appears on the hearing of the appeal.
(6) A direction of the Disciplinary Tribunal under subsection (1) shall take effect where -
(a) no appeal under this section is brought against the direction, within the time limit for such an appeal, or on the expiration of that time,
(b) an appeal is brought and is withdrawn or struck out for want of prosecution, on the withdrawal or striking out of the appeal; or
(c) an appeal is brought and is not withdrawn or struck out under paragraph (b), if and when the appeal is dismissed and shall not take effect except in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this subsection.
(7) A person whose name is struck off the register under a direction of the Disciplinary Tribunal under this section shall not be entitled to be registered again, except under a direction in that behalf and a direction under this section for the striking off of a person's name from the register prohibit him from making an application for membership or restoration of his membership until after the period specified by the direction that his name should be struck off, and if he makes an application during the currency of the prohibition such as application shall be invalid.