The Delta State Police Command says it will now punish people who wear clothes that show too much of their body under the provisions of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law.The police made the announcement on Saturday through a post on their official X account.
The police said the Delta State government frowns upon indecent dressing and that the VAPP law is ready to punish anybody who doesn’t dress well, and anyone who goes against the law could be fined ₦50,000 or asked to do community service. The post included a cartoon-style illustration with a message in Pidgin English that said, “As you nor like wear cloth wey dey cover your body well, and you prefer dey waka go work, school, or anywhere with clothes wey dey show everywhere for your body, make you hear am – Delta state government nor dey smile for that kain dressing that kain. VAPP law don ready to punish anybody wey nor dress well.”
The post also added the police will be sharing more laws every weekend so that people can know what the state does not accept, stating, “There are some laws that you don’t know the state frowns against. So every weekend, we will dropping some of these laws so that you will be aware…”
The VAPP Act, signed into law in 2015 by then-President Goodluck Jonathan, was domesticated in Delta State in July 2020 by the State House of Assembly. The law is designed to prohibit all forms of violence against persons in both private and public life, offering protection to victims and ensuring offenders are punished.
It prohibits female circumcision or genital mutilation, forceful ejection from home and harmful widowhood practices. It prohibits abandonment of spouse, children and other dependants without sustenance, battery and harmful traditional practices.
However, while the Delta State Police referenced Section 16 of the VAPP Law in their post, the section dealing with “indecent dressing” actually falls under Section 29: Indecent Exposure of the Delta State version of the law. It states: “(1) A person who intentionally exposes any of his or her private parts wholly or partly in public commits the offence of indecent exposure.
(2) A person who commits the offence provided for in subsection (1) of this Section is liable on conviction to perform such community service as the court may order or to pay a fine not exceeding N50,000.00 or both.” At the federal level, Section 16 of the VAPP Act deals with the abandonment of dependants: “A person who abandons a wife or husband, children or other dependants without any means of sustenance commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to a fine not exceeding N500,000.00 or both.
(2) A person who attempts to commit the act of violence provided for in subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to a fine not exceeding N200,000.00 or both.
(3) A person who incites, aids, abets, or counsels another person to commit the act of violence as provided for in subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to a fine not exceeding N200,000.00 or both.
(4) A person who receives or assists another who, to his or her knowledge, committed the offence provided for in subsection (1) of this section is an accessory after the fact and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or to a fine not exceeding N100,000.00 or both.”
Meanwhile, Section 26 of the federal law also covers indecent exposure, stating that (1) a person who intentionally exposes his or her genital organs, or a substantial part thereof, with the intention of causing distress to the other party, or that another person seeing it may be tempted or induced to commit an offence under this Act, commits an offence termed “indecent exposure”.
(2) A person who intentionally exposes his or her genital organs, or a substantial part thereof, and induces another to either massage, or touch with the intention of deriving sexual pleasure from such acts commits an offence under this section.
(3) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable to upon conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than 1 year or to a fine not exceeding N500,000 or both.
Source : https://guardian.ng/
