Some policemen stationed at checkpoints leading into Minna, the Niger State capital, have been accused of extorting travelers and forcibly cutting their dreadlocks, despite Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago?s earlier clarification that such directives were not meant for visitors or legitimate business people.

A victim, Wisdom Jonathan, a photographer, narrated his ordeal to journalists, stating that he and two of his workers were stopped at the Pogo checkpoint while entering the state.

According to him, the officers cut off the hair of his colleagues and imposed a N2,000 fine on them.

Jonathan further alleged that he was assaulted with a fan belt by the officers after he protested the treatment meted out to his team.

Governor Bago had previously explained that the hair-cutting directive was targeted at specific groups known for criminal activity and not intended for innocent visitors.

However, the latest incident has sparked concern over abuse of the directive and potential human rights violations.

?When we were coming into Minna, we were stopped at the police checkpoint around Pogo and they told the other two men I was with to open their cap, they did. One has punk and the other one had dreadlocks. They said they will have to cut their hair as it was now the law. I went to them and told them that we are coming to work in Minna and we are not living in Minna.

?The policemen said that they must cut the hair as they were under the order to cut any dreadlock or unruly hair. We crossed together but they told me to go back, they tried to send me back but when I refused, they brought out fan belt and started hitting me with it that I am trying to stop them from doing their job. I was trying to be careful to ensure that the men I brought with me for the work return back safely.

?They took my colleagues to the bush and told them that they have to pay fine of N2,000. They gave them their Opay account and one of the men transferred N2,000 to the officer and the other man gave N2,000 cash.?

When contacted, the Niger state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun said the command will investigate the issue, ?We will verify, investigate and ascertain the personnel involved for further necessary action?, he said in a message to the reporter.

In an apparent response to the incident and others, the Niger state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Honorable Binta Mamman reiterated that the government?s position towards the dreadlocks was to clamp down on nefarious youths groups with distinct hairstyles causing mayhem in parts of Minna, the state capital.

She explained that those who would be affected are those who wear dreadlocks in front while the back of their heads is shaved.

According to Mamman, ?This is not a blanket criminalization of hairstyles, but a preventive measure informed by intelligence and ongoing trends. The aim is to dismantle the formation and spread of these emerging groups before they become deeply rooted in the state.

?The government has observed a disturbing trend among some youth groups where a distinct hairstyle that appears to be evolving into a form of group identity or cultism. The defaulters that will be arrested are those who wear certain dreadlocks in front while the back of their heads are shaved. The security agencies know them because they walk in droves.

?With intelligence reports, this particular dreadlocks style has increasingly become associated with members of these groups.?

In her statement, there was no mention of fines being imposed on offenders as alledged to have been colllected by some security personnel who are at various roadblocks. (The Nation)

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