WEDNESDAY March 12, 2025 |TheNewsDESK
In a significant move towards gender equality, Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Aishatu Abubakar-Baju has confirmed that regulations mandating the dismissal of unmarried policewomen who become pregnant while in service have been removed.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, Abubakar-Baju, Nigeria’s highest-ranking female police officer, stated that discriminatory laws against women in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have been scrapped as part of ongoing reforms.
She emphasized that Section 127 and any other gender-biased provisions in the Police Act had been expunged under the Police Act of 2020 and the ongoing police reform initiative.
When asked about the case of Omolola Olajide, a former police corporal in Ekiti State who was dismissed in 2021 for getting pregnant outside of marriage, Abubakar-Baju assured that such dismissals no longer occur.
“The IGP (Inspector General of Police) launched the Nigeria Police Gender Policy last year to ensure complete eradication of gender discrimination,” she stated. “The Nigeria Police is now an equal-opportunity institution.”
Olajide’s dismissal in 2021 sparked national outrage, prompting the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to challenge the legality of the police regulations in court.
While a Federal High Court in Abuja initially upheld the regulation, the Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned that decision in May 2024, nullifying Sections 126 and 127 of the Nigeria Police Act.
This ruling paved the way for a more inclusive police force, reinforcing the commitment of the Inspector General of Police to gender equality in law enforcement.
With this reform, Nigeria’s police institution takes a significant step towards eliminating gender-based discrimination and fostering an inclusive work environment.
