The Delta State Police Command has issued a strong warning to residents against what it describes as “indecent dressing,” stating that offenders risk paying a fine of ₦50,000 or being sentenced to community service.
The announcement, made via the Command’s Public Relations Department on Saturday, June 28, 2025, references provisions under the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law, which has been domesticated in Delta State since July 2020.
In a post written partly in Pidgin English to drive the message home to a broader audience, the police warned:
“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.”
According to Section 29 of the Delta State version of the VAPP Law, a person who deliberately exposes private parts in public is guilty of indecent exposure.
Upon conviction, the offender may be fined up to ₦50,000, sentenced to community service, or both.
The VAPP Act, originally signed into federal law in 2015 by former President Goodluck Jonathan, aims to eliminate all forms of violence in private and public life.
It provides legal protection to victims and outlines penalties for a wide range of offenses including female genital mutilation, domestic violence, abandonment of dependants, and harmful widowhood practices.
The Police Command’s enforcement stance on indecent dressing has sparked mixed reactions online, with some supporting the moral tone while others raise concerns about personal freedoms and potential abuse of interpretation.
