An Assistant Inspector-General of Police, AIG, Aishatu Abubakar-Baju, says police laws and regulations mandating the dismissal of unmarried policewomen who get pregnant whilst in active service has been wiped out.
Abubakar-Baju, who is the most senior female police officer in Nigeria, stated this on Wednesday, while briefing reporters, noting that laws discriminating against women in the Nigeria Police Force have been deleted for inclusion.
When reminded of the case of Omolola Olajide, an unmarried police corporal in Ekiti State who was dismissed in 2021 for being pregnant, the AIG said unmarried policewomen are no longer dismissed for getting pregnant in active service.
“That Section 127 and any section of the Police Act and regulation that has gender discrimination have been expunged, looking at the Police Act of 2020 and the police reform that is currently going on,” she said.
“The IGP, Inspector General of Police, has just last year launched the Nigeria Police Gender Policy just to make sure that there is complete eradication of any form of gender discrimination.
“I can tell you that the Nigeria Police has come of age, and the IG is intentional about inclusivity and making sure that the Nigeria Police is an equal opportunity institution,” she added.
Asked to respond specifically as to whether the police no longer kick out unmarried female police officers who get pregnant, the AIG said, “Yes.”
Olajide’s dismissal in 2021 sparked outrage with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) approaching a Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge the legality of Section 127 of the police regulations.
