Section 18: Penalties for unprofessional conduct

(1) Where-
(a) a person registered under this Act is convicted by any court in Nigeria or elsewhere having power to award imprisonment for an offence which in the opinion of the Tribunal is incompatible with the status of a nurse or midwife; or
(b) a registered person is judged by the Tribunal to be guilty of infamous conduct in a professional respect; or
(c) the Tribunal is satisfied that the name of any person has been fraudulently registered,
the Tribunal may, if it thinks fit, give a direction-
(i) reprimanding that person; or
(ii) ordering the registrar to strike his name off the relevant part of the register;
or
(iii) suspending him from practice by ordering him not to engage in practice as a nurse or midwife for such period not exceeding six months as may be specified in the direction,
and any such direction may, where appropriate, include provision requiring the refund of moneys paid or the handing over of documents or any other thing as the circumstances of the case may require.
(2) The Tribunal may, if it thinks fit, defer or further defer its decision as to the giving of a direction under subsection (1) of this section until a subsequent meeting of the Tribunal; but-
(a) no decision shall be deferred under this subsection for periods exceeding six months in the aggregate; and
(b) no person shall be a member of the Tribunal for the purpose of reaching a decision which has been deferred or further deferred unless he was present as a member of the tribunal when the decision was deferred.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, a person shall not be treated as convicted as mentioned in paragraph (a) of that subsection unless the conviction stands at a time when no appeal or further appeal is pending or may (without extention of time) be brought in connection with the conviction.
(4) The person to whom such a direction relates may, at any time within 28 days from the date of service on him of the direction, appeal against the direction to the High Court; and the Tribunal may appear as respondent to the appeal and, for the purpose of enabling directions to be given as to the costs of appeal before the High Court, the Tribunal shall be deemed to be a party thereto whether or not it appears on the hearing of the appeal.
(5) A direction of the Tribunal under subsection (1) of this section shall take effect-
(a) where no appeal under this section is brought against the direction within the time limited for the appeal, on the expiration of that time; or
(b) where such 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) where such an appeal is brought and is not withdrawn or struck out as aforesaid, if and when the appeal is dismissed,
and not otherwise howsoever.
(6) A person whose name is removed from the register in pursuance of a direction of the Tribunal under this section shall not be entitled to be registered again except in pursuance of a direction in that behalf given by the Tribunal on the application of that person; 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 his last application) as may be specified in the direction.