Court Revoke Regulation Prohibiting Unmarried Police Officers from Being Pregnant While In Service
An appeal court sitting in Lagos has revoked the regulation in the Nigeria police act, prohibiting unmarried police officers from getting pregnant while in service.
The appellate court ordered the attorney general of the federation, the Nigeria Police Force and the Police Service Commission to review the entire police regulation to be in line with the rule of law.
The court issued the order in a suit filed over the dismissal of an unmarried female police officer attached to a police station in Ekiti state in 2021 for being pregnant.
Judges on the panel of the appellate court say it is unthinkable that the Nigeria Police Force is still operating on the principle that female officers had to be moderated, while their male counterparts are free.
The court ruled that such a regulation is unacceptable in a decent and democratic society governed by the rule of law.
Read Also:
IGP Opposes State Police, Jonathan Says It Is Not Negotiable
It then revoked the judgement of a federal high court in Ado Ekiti and another federal high court in Abuja which upheld the dismissal of the pregnant female police officer.
In the judgment, the Court of Appeal unanimously allowed the appeal, overturning the Federal High Court’s decision in favour of the NBA.
The court held that Regulations 126 and 127 of the Police Act interfere with the privacy of the lives of female police officers and discriminate against them on the basis of their gender.
Justice Oyewole said, I do not agree with the learned trial Judge that the regulations in issue are necessary for morality and discipline in the Police Force as morality and discipline do not have gender bias.
It is unthinkable that the Nigerian Police of this day and age operates on the principle that female officers need to be specially moderated and regulated while their male counterparts are free. This is unacceptable in a decent and democratic society governed by the rule of law.
