Section 17: Offences and penalties

(1) The Committee established under section 16 of this Act shall have power to investigate any person for any of the offences specified in this section.
(2) If a candidate for an examination-
(a) is found before or during the conduct of an examination to have had foreknowledge of live questions or the contents of live question papers (whether or not such fore-knowledge is in respect of one or more live questions or live question papers); or
(b) in any manner unauthorised, makes use of live questions or live question papers,
is guilty of an offence and shall not be entitled to take, be allowed to take or continue the examination.
(3) In addition to the penalty imposed by subsection (2) of this section, the candidate shall be prohibited from taking any examination held or conducted by or on behalf of the Board for a period of not less than three years immediately following such contravention and if the candidate had before the commission of the offence taken any papers at the examination, his results shall be cancelled.
(4) Any person engaged in-
(a) setting, moderating, revising, vetting, printing; or
(b) the collection, storage, distribution or custody,
of live question papers or instructions; or
(c) making drafts or copies thereof; or
(d) supervising, invigilating, attending at an examination,
who, before or during the period of the conduct of an examination, knowingly or recklessly and without lawful authority, discloses the contents of any live question paper or instructions, or of any draft thereof to any person (whether a candidate for that examination or not), is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N5,000 or to imprisonment for a term of five years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
(5) Any person (whether a candidate at an examination or not) who knowingly makes use of the contents of any live question paper or instructions or of any draft or copy thereof in any manner howsoever, and without lawful authority, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N5,000 or to imprisonment for a term of five years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
(6) Where an offence under subsection (4) or (5) of this section is committed by a child or young person within the meaning of the Children and Young Persons Law, then the provisions of any law relating to children and young persons in force in the State in which the offence is committed or tried shall apply in relation to the offence as they apply in relation to offences under that law.
(7) No criminal prosecution under this section of this Act shall be instituted without the consent, in writing, of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
(8) For the purposes of this section-
"child" means a person who has attained the age of fourteen years but is under the age of seventeen years.
(9) A person who, for the purpose of an examination conducted by the Board pursuant to this Act-
(a) falsely represents himself to be some other person; or
(b)
utters any document which has been issued by the Board or by any other lawful authority to another person whereby that other person is certified by the Board to be a person having a qualification recognised by the Board for the purpose of an examination or to be entitled to a right or privilege and falsely represents himself to be the person named in the document or certificate,
is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N5,000 or to imprisonment for a term of five years or to both such fine and imprisonment.