Disgraceful conduct of soldier. Drunkenness. Permitting escape of prisoner. Corrupt dealings in respect of supplies to forces. Deficiency in and injury to equipment. (8) (a) Attempts to commit suicide; or (b) Malingers, or feigns or produces disease or infirmity; or (c) Wilfully maims or injures himself or any other soldier, whether at the instance of such other soldier or not, with intent thereby to render himself or such other soldier unfit for service, or causes himself to be maimed or injured by any person, with intent thereby to render himself unfit for service; or (d) Is wilfully guilty of any misconduct, or wilfully disobeys, whether in hospital or otherwise, any order, by means of which misconduct or disobedience he produces or aggravates disease or infirmity, or delays its cure; or (e) Steals or embezzles, or receives, knowing them to be stolen or embezzled, any money or goods the property of a comrade or of any officer, or any money or goods belonging to any regimental mess, band, or institution, or any public money or goods; or (f) Is guilty of any other offence of a fraudulent nature not before in this Ordinance particularly specified, or of any other disgraceful conduct of a cruel, indecent, or unnatural kind; or who (9) Commits the offence of drunkenness, whether on duty or not on duty; or who (10) (a) When in command of a guard; picquet, patrol, or post, releases without proper authority any prisoner committed to his charge; or (b) Allows to escape any prisoner who is committed to his charge, or whom it is his duty to keep or guard; or who (11) (a) Commits or connives at any extortion; or (b) Without proper authority exacts from any person, carriage, porterage, or provisions; or (e) Lays any duty upon, or takes any fee or advantage in respect of, or is in any way interested in the sale of provisions or merchandise brought into any garrison camp, station, barrack, or place, in which he has any command or authority, or the sale or purchase of any provisions or stores; or who (12) (a) Makes away with, or is concerned in making away with, his arms, ammunition, equipments, instruments, clothing, regimental necessaries, or any animal of which he has charge; or (b) Loses by neglect anything before in this paragraph mentioned; or (c) Makes away with any military decoration granted to him; or (d) Wilfully injures anything before in this paragraph mentioned or any property belonging to a comrade, or to an officer, or to any regimental mess, band, or institution, or any public property; or ments and (e) Ill-treats any animal used in the public service; or who (13) (a) In any report, return, muster roll, pay list, certificate, Falsifying book route, or other document made or signed by him, official docuor of the contents of which it is his duty to ascertain the false declaraaccuracy, knowingly makes or is privy to the making tions. of any false or fraudulent statement, or knowingly makes or is privy to the making of any omission with intent to defraud; or (b) Knowingly and with intent to injure any person, or (e) Where it is his official duty to make a declaration signing in (d) When signing any document relating to pay, arms, Neglect to (e) Refuses or by culpable neglect omits to make or send a (14) (a) Makes a false accusation against any officer or soldier, False accusaknowing such accusation to be false; or (b) In making a complaint, where he thinks himself (c) Makes a wilfully false statement to any military or tion or false statement. (15) (a) Being duly summoned or ordered to attend as a witness Offences in before a court-martial, makes default in attending; or relation to (b) Refuses to take an oath or make a solemn declaration legally required by a court-martial to be taken or made; or (c) Refuses to produce any document in his power or con- courts- (d) Refuses when a witness to answer any question to which (16) Uses traitorous or disloyal words regarding the Sovereign; Traitorous or who words. Injurious disclosures. Ill-treating soldier. Refusal to deliver to civil power soldiers accused of civil offences. Conduct to prejudice of military discipline. Punishment (17) Without due authority, either verbally or in writing or by signal or otherwise, discloses the numbers or position of any forces, or any magazines or stores thereof, or any preparations for or orders relating to operations or movements of any forces, at such time and in such manner as may be injurious to His Majesty's service; or who (18) Being a non-commissioned officer (a) Strikes or otherwise ill-treats any soldier; or (b) Having received the pay of any non-commissioned officer or soldier, unlawfully refuses to pay the same when due; or who (19) On application being made to him, neglects or refuses to deliver over to the civil magistrate or to assist in the lawful apprehension of, any non-commissioned officer or private accused of an offence punishable by a civil court; or who (20) Is guilty of any act, conduct, or neglect to the prejudice of good order and military discipline; Shall on conviction be liable to suffer imprisonment with or for offences in without hard labour or such other punishment as is mentioned in this Ordinance. this section. Scale of Provided that in the case of conviction for drunkenness, the offender shall be liable, either in addition to or in substitution for any other punishment, to pay a fine not exceeding one pound. For the purposes of this section the expression "drunkenness on duty means drunkenness committed on the march or otherwise on duty, or after the offender was warned for duty, or when by reason of the drunkenness the offender was found unfit for duty. 36. Punishment may be inflicted in respect of offences compunishments mitted by persons subject to this Ordinance and convicted by court-martial according to the scale following: by courtsmartial. (a) Death. (b) Penal servitude for a term not less than three years. (c) Imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding two years. (d) Discharge with ignominy from His Majesty's service. (e) Reduction in the case of a non-commissioned officer to a lower grade, or to the ranks in lieu of or in addition to other punishment under this section. (f) Corporal punishment not exceeding twenty-four lashes, in lieu of or in addition to other punishment under this section. (g) Forfeitures, fines, and stoppages. Provided that (1) A soldier when sentenced to penal servitude or imprisonment may, in addition thereto, be sentenced to be discharged with ignominy from His Majesty's service. (2) In addition to or without any other punishment in respect of any offence, an offender convicted may be subject to (3) In addition to or without any other punishment in respect (4) Unless the offender be on active service, corporal punishment shall not be awarded except for offences committed on the line of march against the persons or property of inhabitants of the country. *(5) The Governor shall, by regulation, prescribe the instrument with which corporal punishment under this section shall be inflicted. ARREST. 37. The following regulations shall be observed with respect to Arrest. persons subject to this Ordinance when charged with offences punishable under this Ordinance. may (1) Every person subject to this Ordinance when so charged be taken into military custody: Provided, that in every case where any soldier remains in such military custody for a longer period than eight days without a court-martial for his trial being ordered to assemble, a special report of the necessity for further delay shall be made by his commanding officer in manner prescribed; and a similar report shall be forwarded every eight days until a court-martial is assembled or the soldier is released from custody. (2) Military custody means, according to the usages of His Majesty's Service, the putting the offender under arrest or the putting him in confinement. (3) An officer may order into military custody any non-commissioned officer or private of the Regiment, and any noncommissioned officer may order into military custody any private; and any such order shall be obeyed, notwithstanding that the person giving the order and the person in respect of whom the order is given do not belong to the same corps, arms, or branch of the service. (4) An officer or non-commissioned officer commanding a guard, or a provost-marshal or assistant provost-marshal, shall not refuse to receive or keep any person who is committed to his custody by any officer or non-commissioned officer, but it shall be the duty of the officer or non-commissioned officer who commits any person into custody to deliver at the time of such committal or as soon as practicable, and in every case within twenty-four hours thereafter, to the officer, non-commissioned officer, provost-marshal, or assistant provost-marshal into whose custody the person is committed, an account either verbal or in writing, of the offence with which the person so committed is charged. * See Gazettes (Lagos), 1903, pp. 66 and 354; and 1904, p. 241. Power of officer. (5) The charge made against every person taken into military custody shall without unnecessary delay be investigated by the proper military authority, and, as soon as may be, either proceedings shall be taken for punishing the offence, or such person shall be discharged from custody. POWER OF COMMANDING OFFICER. 38. The commanding officer of each unit shall, upon an commanding investigation being held of a charge made against a person subject to this Ordinance of having committed an offence under this Ordinance, dismiss the charge, if he in his discretion thinks that it ought not to be proceeded with; but where he thinks the charge ought to be proceeded with, he may take steps for bringing the offender before a court-martial or may deal with the case summarily. Where he deals with a case summarily, (1) If the person charged is a private, he may (a) Award imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any period not exceeding forty-two days. (b) Award corporal punishment not exceeding twenty-four lashes in lieu of or in addition to other punishment under this section and sub-section. The Governor shall, by regulation, prescribe the instrument with which such punishment shall be inflicted.* (c) Dismiss the offender from the Regiment. (d) Impose a fine not exceeding ten shillings, to be levied by stoppages from the offender's pay. (e) Award punishment of confinement to barracks for any period not exceeding twenty-one days, such confinement involving the taking of all duties in regular turn, attending parades and punishment drills, not exceeding one hour at a time, nor four hours in all on the same day, inclusive of ordinary parades, and also liability to employment on duties of fatigue. (f) In addition to or without any other punishment, order the offender to suffer any deduction from his ordinary pay in order to make good the amount of any loss or damage he may have caused. Provided that, unless the offender be on active service, corporal punishment shall not be awarded except for offences committed on the line of march against the persons or property of the inhabitants of the country. (2) If the person charged is a non-commissioned officer he may reduce him to a lower rank or to the rank of private. (3) In the case of absence without leave, he may, if the person charged is a private, award imprisonment with or without hard labour, up to any period not exceeding forty-two days, provided that the term of imprisonment awarded, if exceeding seven days, shall not exceed the term of absence. * See Gazettes (Lagos), 1903, pp. 66 and 354; and 1904, p. 241. |