Section 88 Nigeria Police Act

Section 88 of the Nigeria Police Act 2020 is about Found and unclaimed property. It is under Part X (Property Found and Unclaimed, etc.) of the Act. It provides as follows:

(1) Where a police officer or any other person finds a lost property, the police officer or person who finds the property shall take it to the nearest police station within 24 hours after it is found.

(2) A police officer on duty shall collect the property which was found and make a record of it.

(3) A register shall be kept at a police station for the purpose of making entries of the property found and brought to the station which shall contain-
(a) the type of property found ;
(b) the description of the property stating the general particulars and state and condition of the property when it was brought to the police station and any other relevant information relating to the property ;

(c) the date and time it was found and brought ;
(d) the name, address and telephone number, if any, of the person who found and brought the property to the station ;
(e) the name and rank of the police officer who collected the property; and
(f) the signatures of the police officer and the person who found and brought the property to the station.

(4) A police officer who collects the lost and found property shall enter the details in the register referred to in subsection (3) and prepare two forms acknowledging the receipt of the lost and found property and give a duly signed copy to the person who found and brought the property to the police station.

(5) The police officer in charge of the police station in possession of the property found shall make a public announcement at least on three consecutive times in the print and electronic media about the property in the custody of the police station for the rightful owner to claim the property with authentic proof of ownership within a period of six months.

(6) The police officer in charge of the station in possession of the property shall release the property upon satisfactory proof of ownership.

(7) Where the property remains unclaimed after the expiration of six months, the police officer in charge of that police station shall bring the property before a magistrate court for auction and the proceeds shall be paid into the Police Reward Fund established under section 91 of this Act.

(8) Where a property in Police custody is a perishable article or its custody involves unreasonable expense or inconvenience, it may be sold at any time, and the proceeds of sale shall be paid into the Police Reward Fund established under section 91 of this Act.

(9) There shall be deducted from the proceeds of a sale under subsections (7) and (8), before being paid into the Police Reward Fund the cost, if any, of the
sale and of any sum which the court may direct to be paid as a reward to any
person by whom the property was delivered into the possession of the police.

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