The Delta State Police Command has announced plans to enforce penalties against individuals found guilty of indecent dressing under the provisions of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law.
The announcement was made on Saturday via a post on the Command’s official X (formerly Twitter) account. According to the police, the state government strongly disapproves of indecent dressing, and offenders could face fines of up to ₦50,000 or be sentenced to community service.
Accompanying the post was a cartoon-style illustration with a warning written in Pidgin English:
“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. VAAP law don ready to punish anybody wey nor dress well.”
The police also stated that more public awareness would be carried out regularly:
“There are some laws that you don’t know the state frowns against. So every weekend, we will be dropping some of these laws so that you will be aware.”
While the police referred to Section 16 of the VAPP Law in the post, the relevant provision regarding indecent dressing actually falls under Section 29 of the Delta State version of the law. It states:
“A person who intentionally exposes any of his or her private parts wholly or partly in public commits the offence of indecent exposure,” and is liable on conviction to a fine of up to ₦50,000, community service, or both.
The federal VAPP Act—signed into law in 2015 by then-President Goodluck Jonathan and domesticated in Delta State in July 2020—focuses on protecting individuals against various forms of violence in both private and public life.
While the Delta police mistakenly cited Section 16, that section of the federal VAPP Act actually addresses abandonment of dependents, such as a spouse or children, with penalties ranging from fines up to ₦500,000 to imprisonment for up to three years.
The federal Act also addresses indecent exposure under Section 26, particularly cases involving the exposure of genital organs with the intent to cause distress or incite sexual activity. Offenders risk at least one year of imprisonment or a fine not exceeding ₦500,000, or both.
The police’s recent move has sparked public interest and discussion, as it signals a broader intention to begin enforcing sections of the VAPP Law that may have previously been overlooked.
