Section 51: Breaches of official duty.

(1) If any person to whom this section applies or who is for the time being under a duty to discharge any of the functions of such a person, is without reasonable cause, guilty of any act or omission in breach of his official duty, then he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding N500 or to imprisonment for six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.
(2) The persons to whom this section applies are any Electoral Officer, Assistant Electoral Officer, Presiding Officer, Assistant Presiding Officer, Returning Officer, Assistant Returning Officer, Poll Clerk, or Assistant Poll Clerk, or any officer or officers (by whatever name called) appointed under paragraph 4 of the Third Schedule to this Act and the expression "official duty" shall for the purposes of this section be construed accordingly, but shall not include duties imposed otherwise than by this Act.
(3) Where a prosecution for an offence against this section is instituted by a private prosecutor-
(a) the court having cognisance of the case may order such prosecutor to give security, for such costs as may become payable to the accused person, for such amount and in such manner as the court may deem fit and in the event of failure to comply with such order the court shall discharge the accused person;
(b) the amount of compensation which may be awarded to an accused person in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act or the Criminal Procedure Code shall be an amount not exceeding N500 as the court may determine instead of the amount for which provision is made in that Act or Code.
(4) In this section, "private prosecutor" has the meaning assigned to it in the Criminal Procedure Act or Criminal Procedure Code.