Section 119 - Public officer obtaining valuable thing without consideration from person concerned in proceeding or business transacted by such public officer.

Whoever being a public officer accepts or obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain for himself or for any other person any valuable thing without consideration or for a consideration which he knows to be inadequate-

(a) from any person whom he knows to have been or to be or to be likely to be concerned in a proceeding or business transacted or about to be transacted by the public officer or having a connection with the official functions of himself or of a public officer to whom he is subordinate; or

(b) from a person whom he knows to be interested in or related to the person so concerned,

shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five

years or with fine or with both.

Illustrations. (a) A, a District Head hires a house of Z, who has a boundary case pending before him. It is agreed that A shall pay four naira a month

the house being such that, if the bargain were made in good faith, A would be required to pay ten naira a month. A has obtained a valuable thing from Z without adequate consideration.

(b) Z's brother is arrested and taken before A an Area Court Judge on a charge of perjury. A sells to Z an old cow for twenty naira when its market value is only two naira. The money so obtained by A is a valuable thing obtained by him without adequate consideration.