I just stumbled on an article on the Linda Ikeji Blog about a lady
who was assaulted by the Police for having a tattoo. It’s so amazing the work
our Nigerian Policemen are doing. 

The sheer amount of intelligence
gathering and psychology that results in the identification of criminals by
their body art is one that should be shared with every police force in the
world.
For those who don’t know, a tattoo is a
permanent design drawn on a person’s skin. It is a popular form of self –
expression for many and also recognised by many tribes and cultures around the
world.
Never mind that the person is law
abiding, or is a respectable member of the society, as long as you have a
tattoo in the eyes of the Nigerian Police, you must be a criminal or prostitute
as the case may be. This level of professionalism in policing is unprecedented
and definitely unique to our police force. A reason why we always continue to
adore the police, our friends.
As the chief security agent of the
State, the agency with the mandate to protect the rights of the Nigerian
Citizen, uphold the rule of law and ensure our safety, arresting well-meaning
Nigerians just because they have tattoos is very commendable.
This exemplary work by the Police can
be found online, such as the case of Jerry
Guobadia
and that of Jackie Awah.
You must agree with the Police that people with tattoos are a big problem to
the Nigerian Society, even though they may be musicians, performers, artists,
doctors or even bankers, the police should arrest them and prosecute them.
The police must have noted that the
high rate of   people with tattoos in Nigeria is directly proportional to
the high crime rate in the community. Hence the need to take down everyone with
a tattoo. Having a tattoo can also cause a severe breach of the peace, riot,
looting or even murder the Police must believe.
Even the Constitution that has a
provision for the fundamental right of every Nigeria not to be subject to
degrading treatment cannot fault this incredible work of the police. Neither
can Section 8 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act that provides that
suspects should not be subject to any form of cruel treatment be of any use
here.
Fellow Nigerians, we definitely have to
wake up and fight to protect our rights as a people, especially from those who
seek to spit on them such as our friends. Fundamental Human Right proceedings
commending the police for a job well done is a good way to start.
This is a
blog post by Adedunmade Onibokun. Adedunmade is a lawyer and blogger. He
practices in Lagos and publishes the law blog www.legalnaija.com. You can reach
Adedunmade on dunmadeo@yahoo.com
Ed’s Note – This article was originally published here.