Nigerian Shouldn’t Train Policemen Clutching Bible, Quran Instead Of Weapons To Fight Criminals – Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa Reacts To New Dress Code

Human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, has stated that Nigeria should not train policemen who would clutch Quran and Bible instead weapons or produce police officers who are chanting incantations to fight criminals.

Adegboruwa in an article he penned on the police new dress code added that religion had no role to “play in effective security and efficient policing” while stressing that he had no case against scarves, earrings, hijab, peak caps or such other coverings, as the expression and practice of faith when it is done in private.

The senior advocate noted that the police force should have verified if there were “Buddhists, atheists, freemasons, traditionalists or even free thinkers” and made provisions to cover officers who are presently enlisted in the police force and those to be enlisted in future.

He said, “On Friday March 4, 2022, the Inspector-General of Police announced a new dress code for all female policemen, by which they were to adorn scarves, peak caps, hijabs, stud earrings and such other ornaments. There has been a growing debate on public display of faith by and in public institutions, especially government parastatals.

“Nigeria is no doubt a heterogeneous society, consisting of various ethnic nationalities, religions and cultures. Over the years, our founding fathers have found a way to accommodate the diverse nature of our nation by maintaining some borderline approach on very sensitive issues in order to give room for all to function. One of such is to keep religion and the faith of citizens within the bounds of privacy, as expressed in section 10 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended. Sometime ago, the National Youth Service Corps, attempted to enforce a dress code but it was met with resistance and backlash, given the noble objectives of that laudable scheme, being national integration and unity. It is my very humble view that we must as a nation strive to find common grounds to tolerate each other and have respect for the views, faith and opinion of all and not give the impression of preference for one against the other.

“Let me state at the outset that I have no issues whatsoever with decent and moderate dressing, given my own background and training. I therefore do support the adornment of hijab or any such covering that anyone may deem fit to wear, privately. And it is a great disservice to me and my struggles to even think that I detest any particular religion, far from it. I was trained and mentored by Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, a Muslim and I have a lot of mentors and mentees who are very devoted and practicing Muslims, in the legal profession and globally.

“If I may ask, which tribe or religion in Nigeria wears stud earrings or scarves and peak caps as the IGP has alluded? None. These adornments are not peculiar to any religion or tribe in Nigeria, but the photo images displayed by the police to unveil the new dress show clearly that the intendment of the police authorities was to grant permission for hijab and other coverings, to be worn by female police officers. I responded to the new dress code, purely upon my own understanding of our Constitution and the intention of our founding fathers to keep religion as a private matter, as much as possible, given its sensitive nature.

“Section 42 of the Constitution forbids any form of discrimination on the ground of religion, which when married with section 10 that prescribes secularity, shows clearly that government should not dabble into the practice of faith. And the reason is very simple. Once it is possible to bypass any religion at all in such unnecessary policy formulation, then section 42 is immediately activated. And for you to know whether one religion has been bypassed or not, it is the responsibility of the person who seeks to enforce the religious practice to demonstrate that he has put all religion and religious practices into consideration. The first step towards establishing this is to publish verifiable data of the number of religious practices available, for instance amongst police officers, as to know whether there are Buddhists, atheists, freemasons, traditionalists or even free thinkers. This will cover officers who are presently enlisted in the police force and those to be enlisted in future.

“Amongst all the security agencies, it is the police that interact with the civil populace, being the one specifically established by law as such. What then is the driving force behind the new dress code? Is it to enhance performance, will it reduce the crime rate in town, will it help address the growing insecurity in the land or even assist in intelligence gathering? Will these new scarves, stud earrings and peak caps help reduce the pervading corruption that has eaten so deep into the police system? Will they help to improve the dilapidating structures dotting all police barracks in Nigeria or even enhance the poor welfare conditions of police officers? Will the display of faith through their dressing, make female officers become more friendly and accommodating to the civil populace? What about the unnecessary risk to which a veil-wearing female office is exposed when enforcing law in areas of the opposing faith? Will this alone not provoke resistance and become a clog to law enforcement?

“We should not train policemen who would clutch Quran and Bible instead weapons or produce police officers who are chanting incantations to fight criminals. Religion is a matter for the mind and it should have no role to play in effective security and efficient policing. I surely and certainly have no case against scarves, earrings, hijab, peak caps or such other coverings, as the expression and practice of faith when it is done in private. We cannot shy away from speaking the truth for fear that our friends and admirers would not agree with us. “Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed.” (Friedrich Nietzsche).”