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Funmi Iyanda
Lagos, Nigeria
Funmi Iyanda is a multi award-winning producer and broadcast journalist. She is the CEO of Ignite Media and Executive Director of Creation Television
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Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Police press release on the 'indecent dressing' arrest in Lagos

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

ok, frank mba tried in its 'entire entirety'!

-now we'll just all have to print and carry about in our cars and purses, i hope this was in the papers too...there ought to have been an apology to those who had been harrassed prior to as opposed to the outright denial that such incidents did take place.

That said, wo n try, lets just hope it trickles down to the men in black at the roadblocks.

uknaija said...

I suppose we should be pleased, at least they did not attempt the bravado of yes, we did it and so? Which I suppose is progress. That said the mind boggles at going to report to a human rights desk in a Nigerian police station, but let's wait and see before I'm accused of being too cynical

Anonymous said...

Yay! It is a small step, but definitely one in the right direction.

The next step is to make sure the media loudly proclaim it from the rooftops. Please mention it on your show, and convince Betty Irabor of Genevieve, True Love WA and other broadcasters, radio and tv hosts and hostesses to make some sort of announcement during their progams. Let the ordinary policeman not say "im no hear dat one o!"

Thanks you for bringing this to our attention, and for diligently taking it up with awon Oga Olopa dem.

Everybody, please pay attention, change cannot come about if we all refuse to speak up. Everyone can be an architect of change. Noone can claim to not know what is happening in our land these days, thanks to online radio, newspapers, blogs, youtube, etc, so don't be afraid to speak up!

From Betty Irabor's apology letter/retraction to the Covenant University's V.C being summoned by Minister of Education and now this Police press release, we are seeing the power of people speaking together and with one voice.

Increase the peace...

Ms. Catwalq said...

@judith adeola: yes o. we must all print

@Aunty Funmi: am I supposed to believe that a policeman whose salary has not been rightfully and accurately paid in a while will let go of his newfound source of "income"?

Anonymous said...

slowly but surely we shall get there,as long as we don`t give up and we give full support to causes like this, more to come for sure, my question is are we ready ?

Anonymous said...

It is sad to see that in this day and age, there is no hotline for Police "crimes or harrasment" for people to call in,or even an email address. Attend at the human rights desk of any police station, as if? Are these people unaware of how members of the police force abuse their powers?
The undelying message I saw was, prostitutes are the cause of crime in Lagos. Have they attempted to go after the gun runners and smugglers? They are known to the police. After all, we do not manufacture those guns in Nigeria.
The press release read funny to me, like in the usual Nigerian official statements that mean nothing at the end of the day.

Anonymous said...

Nice sugar coating. He still doesn't admit that 90% of the police force are hoodlums or high school drop outs who are very unprofessional in their mannerisms. They taunt the public they've sworn to protect. They harass and aggravate. This is all they do.

There's a problem and no sugar coating can sweep it under the table. It needs to be addressed. Human Rights!! What does the Naija Police Force know about animal rights let alone Human rights?

Anonymous said...

So, neither adultery nor indecent dressing is known to the criminal code, so we can assume the police were exercising latitude under the "moral code" unwritten but enforced.

If we are to avoid these black spots or red lights (sic) areas, where are they so that we can consciously avoid straying into the hands of hoodlums and their feminine accomplices?

A nice write-up, let us wait and see what develops from this.

Good work, Funmi.

Unbiased said...

Funmi!! I personally dont believe a word. PRO?? Why acnt the police commisioner sign it. It feels too much like a cover up by pulic relations. Report harrassment ke? To the people harassing you? When i see action in the right direction, i will believe. Sorry to be the doubting thomas here. Good work in getting our voices hear sha so they know the people are not blind and sleeping.

Unknown said...

Thats a first, @ Judith you are right we have to print and carry a copy around cause some hard head will say they don't know. Thanks alot Funmie

Chude! said...

"The police requests all 'fashion-long' Lagosians to go about their business" ...of loving fashion!

And this was sid with a straight face! Oh those guys are so ridiculous in their total lack of irony..

Anonymous said...

Hi Funmi,
Please go read the 90th comment on your previous topic 'we don crase patapata'
Pat (concerned Warri guy)

loomnie said...

Thanks Funmi, for posting this. It is good for us to know this, but I wonder how much this really means to the average Olopa at the numerous checkpoints in Lagos. Like Akin wrote, these policemen see themselves as enforcing some 'societal moral code', not neccessarily any item in the Nigerian criminal code. The have always done this, it only took a different turn when it seemed to have gained the backing of the commissioner of police. More than simply making them realise that this particular case in point is to be avoided, the men of the Nigerian police need to know that their duties are defined by the law, and not by what they percieve as the moral code of the society.

Anonymous said...

There goes my million naked women march.

Well done Funmi, and all that sent in their protest letters. Lets hope that the madness has really ended.

Anonymous said...

This is a funny article. I am sorry to be one of the cynics. However, i applaud everyone who contributed to this. At least we got a response.

But, all i see is an illiterate police who misunderstands instructions given to them. "Arrest prostitutes" ad they arrest women in skimpy clothes. Nigeria don crase patapata and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

Funmi Iyanda said...

@all, lets siddon look for now, l have an upcoming interview with the police commissioner to be recorded for my show tommorrow and l will raise all these issues. if after all these dem no stop get ready to march people (winking at kingskid)!
@chude, you dont want to hear the pearls of pacifist wisdom thats been thrown at my "ruffled female feathers" from official quarters in the last couple of weeks. E.g haba funmi cool down why would we do it se bi we too have wives and (with an oily laugh) girlfriends and we want them to look good for us. l sigh silently, smile publicly and press on.
@anonymous pat (wink), l have responded and dont get your knicker/boxers twisted mai bro/sis, no such offence was intended, none should be taken.

Lola said...

a step in the right direction, at least there's more ammunition to refuse random harassment by police officers.

I read a research document done recently pan nigeria where they asked young people 16-28 some of the men and women that they most admired and wanted to be like, worldwide. Funmi Iyanda's name came up in the top ten and I must say I was very happy to see it there. The people are watching.

Me, i'm ready for the million naked women march o! lol...funmilayo ransome-kuti would be proud indeed!

Anonymous said...

I am so surprised they actually heard us, not only that they even replied. When you talk gently they don't hear until you shout.

I hope this is published in major newspapers, and aired on the radio stations so all will know.

I agree with funmi let us watch and see.However, we did a good job.

POWER TO US PEOPLE.

Anonymous said...

Haba. We Nigerians are such a cynical bunch, and so hard to please... This press release is an amazing victory for common sense and people power. The fact that it has been written at all tells us that the Police powers that be are not totally deaf and blind to anything except lining their pockets corruptly. Let us savour this small victory and press on.
Fums - I bow o. More grease!

Anonymous said...

na wa 4us 4 naija!how far have they gone with crime and other related activities that we are talking about indecent dressing!thanks aunty funmi we need more of u in our society to speak up for us

Anonymous said...

what i find curious is the fact that he keeps referring to the accusations as mere rumours. Forgive me, but isn't a rumour a piece of unverified info? Biko, the other day i was at my store at 10am in the morning and my assistant came running in because she'd seen policemen harassing and rounding up young ladies because of the way they were dressed. Some were being stripped on the spot! One poor girl was just getting off an okada and her low-rise jeans had revealed her thongs and she was immediately pounced upon! they said they were acting on 'orders from above' and if they couldn't pay 20k on the spot they would be detained for 6 months! Actually, they specifically mentioned it was a direct order from fashola and i remember i got into a furious argument with my brother in law because i said fashola must be an idiot to have passed such a law!

this man should face facts. True, the original intent might have been to root out prostitutes aiding and abetting criminals, but obviously his uneducated and uncouth boys have decided to use this as another way of supplementing their incomes. afterall, ona kan o woja!

Anonymous said...

Nigerians talk; in fact all we do is talk. Nothing ever happens.

The letter changes nothing. It's simply a denial of what we know is the truth, and an extremely bad one at that. I am filled with shame that an official letter has been so badly drafted, containing spelling and grammatical errors that a secondary school student would be hard pressed to make. I'm further ashamed that the ever hopeful Nigerians think this letter is a step in the right direction. We've been using the old 'slowly but surely' mantra for years, the old 'God will do this and that', and where has it got us? Stuck firmly in denial, that's where, always hoping and never actually doing anything. This is the reason we're sliding backwards steadily while the rest of the world moves forward. Don't get it twisted - God has no intention of helping us unless we help ourselves, and we're not ready to do that, myself included. So the country rots further.

Anonymous said...

Update: Just like i feared, e be like say the ignorance is spreading. Heard there was an incident in Abia state recently, where a bunch of men chased and harrassed women wearing trousers. They almost had them stripped and went as far as extorting money from them to buy skirts and have them change.

Abeg, can you verify?