Tricycle riders in Maiduguri are furious because those wearing “rough” – or what is considered outlandish – hairstyles have been arrested, fined and forced to cut their hair into more acceptable styles.

The young commercial riders claim members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and the Borno State Traffic Management Agency (BOTMA) in Maiduguri – and even some security officials – have been forcing them to conform and to cut or shave off their unacceptable hairstyles, even though they do not consider their hair to be unacceptable.

Muhammad Usman, a tricycle rider in Maiduguri, told RNI reporter Aisha Jamal that the riders had been told that they were not allowed to wear their hair in “rough or crazy” ways because it made them look like thugs or drunkards. He believed the CTJF had no right to tell them how they should wear their hair.

Another rider, Bour Kekema, said: “To me the law states that everyone can choose his or her own way of life but, by the actions of the CTJF and other security agents, it appears the law does not apply to everyone.”

Mustapha Adam, deputy chief of BOTMA, said they arrested commercial tricycle riders only if they had violated the law.

He said: “Borno is a state with people who are guided by law and religious principles and ensuring tolerance and good behavior is part of our mandate as an agency. We ensure men, women and young people embrace our norms and live peacefully.

“Improper dressing, reckless driving and unacceptable hairstyles are some of the things our agency does not accept. Some youths are engaged with these unacceptable behaviours because their parents cannot control them. That’s why we have stepped in to ensure acceptable behaviour among the public.

“We never arrest a person at his or her home. We arrest commercial tricycles riders who disobey the law on the streets and demand that they come to our office. The riders need to be told that once they have picked up passengers, every person inside that vehicle has rights and they need to heed those rights.”

Adam said that when the riders were arrested, they were ordered to shave their hair into a “proper, acceptable style” and then they had to pay a fine.

“Sometimes we do not collect the fine from them and release them once they realise their actions are wrong and show that they are willing to change.

“Everyone has rights and, while ensuring the rights of people, we have to make sure we are not trampling on the rights of others,” he said.

A legal practitioner in Maiduguri, Shettima Mustapha, told RNI that the law gave each and every individual the basic fundamentals of living in accordance with the Nigerian constitution.

“The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides the fundamental human rights of every individual is guaranteed in the country. Likewise, every agency or organisation has rules which must be in accordance with the constitution. Even the security agencies have boundaries which they may not cross while taking care of the masses. Their work has to be ethical. They choose the technique they deem necessary to work according to the provisions of the constitution.”

Mustapha said every society had religious doctrines, norms and principles that informed the way people should live. If a person broke those norms and committed a wrongful act which was not in accordance with the constitution, then that person should face punishment from the authorities.”

He advised young people to avoid introducing unacceptable acts into their society and encouraged them to use their youthfulness in a productive manner, particularly by ensuring that they shunned violence.

A CJTF member, who asked to remain anonymous, said the hairstyles of some youngsters intimated that they were members of gangs who perpetrated crimes, such as snatching cellphones and bags.

But, having said that, he stated that there were no official directives on how people should wear their hair.

“I don’t know of any law that involves hairstyles,” he said.

AISHA SD JAMAL