Section 16: Penalties for unprofessional conduct.

(1) Where-
(a) a member is judged by the Committee to be guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect;
(b)
a member is convicted by any Court in Nigeria or elsewhere on criminal acts (whether or not punishable with imprisonment) which in the opinion of the Committee is incompatible with his status in the profession; or
(c)
the Committee is satisfied that the name of any person has been fraudulently registered,
the Committee may, if it thinks fit, give a direction reprimanding that person and ordering the Registrar to strike his name off the relevant part of the Register.
(2)
The Committee may, if it thinks fit, defer its decision as to the giving of a direction under subsection (1) until a subsequent meeting of the committee, but-
(a)
no decision shall be deferred under this subsection for a period exceeding two years in the aggregate; and
(b) so far as possible no person shall be a member of the Committee for purposes of reaching a decision which has been deferred unless he was present as a member of the Committee when the decision was deferred.
(3) For the purpose of subsection (1) (b) of this section, a person shall not be treated as convicted as therein mentioned unless the conviction stands at a time when no appeal or further appeal is pending or may (by extension of time) be brought in connection with the conviction.
(4) When the Committee gives a direction under subsection (1) of this section, the Committee 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 direction, appeal against the directions in the High Court, and the Committee may appear as respondent to the appeal and, for the purpose of enabling directions to be given as to the costs of the appeal and of proceedings before the Committee shall be deemed to be a party thereto whether or not it appears on the hearing of the appeal.
(6) A direction of the Committee under subsection (1) of this section shall take effect only-
(a)
where no appeal under this section is brought against the direction within the time limited for such an appeal, on the expiration of that time;
(b)
where such an appeal is brought and is withdrawn or struck out for want of prosecution; or
(c) where such an appeal is brought and is dismissed.
(7)
A person whose name is removed from the Register in pursuance of a direction of the Committee under this section shall not be entitled to be registered again except in pursuance of a direction in that behalf given by the committee on the application of that person; and a direction under this section for the removal; 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 last application) and may be specified in the direction.