Section 6: Refusal of assistance.

(1) The Central Authority for Nigeria after consultation with the President, may refuse to comply in part or in whole with a request for assistance under this Act if the criminal matter in respect of which assistance is sought appears to the Central Authority in Nigeria to concern-
(a) conduct which does not constitute an offence under any law in force in Nigeria;
(b) an offence or proceedings of a political character;
(c) conduct which in the requesting country is an offence only under military law or relating to military obligations;
(d) conduct in relation to which the person now accused or suspected of having committed an offence had previously been acquitted or convicted by a court in Nigeria.
(2) The Central Authority for Nigeria after consultation with the President may refuse to comply in whole or in part with a request for assistance under this Act-
(a) to the extent that it appears to the Central Authority aforesaid that compliance would be contrary to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 or would be prejudicial to the security, international relations or other essential public interests of Nigeria; or
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(b) where there are substantial grounds leading the Central Authority to believe that compliance would facilitate the prosecution or punishment of any person on account of his race, religion, nationality or political opinions or would cause prejudice on account of any of the reasons aforesaid, to the person affected by the request.
(3) The Central Authority for Nigeria may after consultation with the President, refuse to comply in whole or, in part with a request for assistance to the extent that the steps required to be taken in order to comply with the request cannot lawfully be taken under any law in force in Nigeria in respect of criminal matters arising in Nigeria.
(4) An offence shall not be regarded as an offence of a political character for the purpose of subsection (1) (b) of this section, if it is an offence within the scope of any international convention to which both Nigeria and the requesting or requested country, as the case may be, are parties and which imposes on the parties thereto an obligation either to extradite or prosecute a person accused of the commission of the offence.
(5) The provisions of sections 4, 5 and 6 of this Act shall apply mutatis mutandis to any case in which Nigeria is either the requesting or requested country, as the case may require.