Police policy on unmarried pregnant female officers is deemed discriminatory and unlawful by the court

The Nigeria Police Force’s (NPF) policy prohibiting unmarried female employees from becoming pregnant was overturned by the National Industrial Court in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, because it violated both Section 42 of the 1999 Nigeria Constitution (as amended) and Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, which outlaws discrimination based on gender.

Justice Dashe Damulak also ruled that Miss Omolola Olajide has the right to contest the validity of Section 127 of the Police Act and Regulation 127 thereof in a historic decision handed down on Wednesday.

Remember that Miss Olajide of the Ekiti State Police Command was fired by the former Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on January 26, 2021, for being pregnant while still single.

Through her attorney, Funmi Falana, she went to court to contest her termination on the grounds that the police department had treated her unfairly because her male coworkers were not terminated under comparable conditions.

Olajide named the Inspector General of Police, the Police Service Commission, and the NPF as defendants in the lawsuit that was filed.

The Court, therefore, finds and holds that Section 127 of the Police Act and Regulation 127 thereof, which apply to unmarried police women becoming pregnant while on duty but do not apply to unmarried policemen impregnating females while they are on duty, are discriminatory against unmarried women officers by Section 1(3) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, if any law is inconsistency.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the case of the Claimant succeeds in part only in terms of prayer B, which is a Declaration that the prohibition of unmarried female police officers becoming pregnant before marriage but does not apply to male police officers impregnating women before marriage is discriminatory, unconstitutional, and illegal as it violates the Claimant’s Fundamental Right under Section 42 of the Constitution. And the abovementioned clause is hereby declared invalid and repealed.

However, the court turned down Olajide’s request for reinstatement.

The court also agreed with Tolu Abisagbo, the police attorney, that Olajide was on probation when she was fired and could not be reinstated because of this.

The judge ruled that Olajide is not yet dressed in the statutory protection’s attire because he is a probationary employee. She is therefore entitled to aggravated and punitive damages with an estimated value of N5 million because she was unlawfully denied the chance to serve in the Police Force for the rest of her life and cannot be reinstated.