The 24th day of August 2020 was a bad day for Chidi Okoro, he was disgraced in public for putting on military camouflage print clothing. A similar incident occurred in December 2019, when a man was beaten up in Yaba, Lagos state by a military officer because he wore military camouflage print trousers to an event. It then begs the following questions.
- Is putting on military camouflage print an offence under the laws of Nigeria?
- What is the punishment for the said offence?
- Do army personnel have the right to brutalize citizens on account of putting on army camouflage print clothing?
- Are there exceptions to those who are allowed to put on print camouflage clothing?
For the purposes of the above, we will be looking at the provisions of sections 251 and 110 of the Criminal Code Act L.N. 112 of 1964. 1967 No. 27.
Section 251 provides thus:
Any person who, not being a person serving in any of the armed or police forces of Nigeria, wears the uniform of any of these forces, or any dress having the appearance or bearing any of the regimental or other distinctive marks of any such uniform, in such manner or in such circumstances as to be likely to bring contempt on that uniform, or employs any other person so to wear such uniform or dress, is guilty of a simple offence, and is liable to imprisonment for three months or to a fine of forty naira.
The part highlighted in italics is very crucial to the criminalization of the offence of wearing military camouflage print. It must be worn in such a way as to bring contempt to the said uniform. The question now is “what will be said to be an act capable of bringing contempt to the uniform?” It is clear however that merely putting on a military camouflage print does not constitute an offence under section 251 except the act is contemptuous in nature.
Section 110 of the Criminal Code Act provides for what qualifies as unlawfully wearing the uniform of the armed forces. It states thus:
Any person who‐
- not being a person serving in any of the armed forces of Nigeria, wears the uniform or any part of the uniform of such forces, or any dress having the appearance or bearing any of the regimental or other distinctive marks of such uniforms; or
- not being a person holding any office or authority under the Government of Nigeria or of any part thereof, wears any uniform or distinctive badge or mark or carries any token calculated to convey the impression that such person holds any office or authority under the government, is guilty of an offence and is liable to imprisonment for one month or to a fine of ten naira, unless he proves that he had the permission of the President or of the Governor of a State to wear such uniform or dress, badge or mark or to carry such token:
Provided that this section of this Code shall not apply to the wearing of any uniform or dress in the course of a stage play or in any bona fide public entertainment.
It is pertinent to note here that in most cases, for an act to be said to be an offence, two things must be present, the intention to commit the offence and the commission of the offence itself. Now, a closer look at the provision of the criminal code cited above will show that it is not strictly an offence just to wear military camouflage print. It must be accompanied by an attempt to deceive another person or to convey the impression that you are army personnel. This can be gleaned from subsection (2) cited above. Hence a citizen should not be arrested only upon the mere fact that he puts on military camouflage print clothes, it must be shown that the said civilian attempted or has an intention to deceive the public.
However, subsection 1 of section 110 cited above does not make reference to trying to convey any false impressions to the public and so criminalizes the mere putting on of a military camouflage print whether or not there is the intention or not to deceive.
There is however a respite for civilians, and it is the fact that once such a person seeks and obtains the approval of either the President or Governor, he or she is at liberty to freely wear any camouflage print. I’m not sure why anyone would go through such lengths to dress in military camouflage print but the opportunity is available. The mode of seeking and obtaining such approval, though, was not stated in the Act.
We have seen also on numerous occasions where celebrities in Nigeria put on military camouflage print and moved freely even in the company of military personnel. This is not unconnected to the proviso to subsection (2) of section 110. The military camouflage print has been approved to be worn in the course of a stage play or a bona fide public entertainment. This has prompted celebrities shooting music videos or hosting concerts wherein they wear these camouflage prints.
From the provisions of sections 251 and 110 of the criminal code cited above, it is clear that putting on military camouflage print clothing alone is an offence except if the person putting it on has gotten an approval or puts it on for a stage play of for public entertainment
However, more disheartening is that despite the fact that the wearing of military camouflage print has been declared to be an offence under the criminal code and a person can only be found guilty of an offence by a court of competent jurisdiction, some army personnel have resorted to self-help and taken laws into their hands. They have on several occasions beaten up civilians who wore these attires outside and even boasted while carrying out these inhumane acts.
The military cannot be the accuser, the judge, and the prosecutor. It is totally unacceptable. These degrading treatment on innocent citizens who have not been found guilty by any court of competent jurisdiction should not stand. A citizen is still entitled to all his constitutionally guaranteed rights as enshrined in section 36 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A complaint should be made to the Police who are the prosecutorial body, then such a person could be charged to court and the court would decide his fate.
This is the core incidence of a democratic society and the military should not be seen carelessly flouting it without any proper action taken. More worrisome is the fact that hardly is any case of such case of maltreatment brought before the court for interpretation, maybe for fear of the military. This aspect of our laws should be tested in court and the courts should be bold in its pronouncement on a clear case of human rights violation as no one is above the law, not even the military.
Written by Davidson Duru Esq.
