Women Empowerment and Legal Aid (WELA) founder, Funmi Falana, SAN, has expressed gratitude to the Police High Command for reinstating Miss Omolola Olajide, an officer from the Ekiti Police Command who was dismissed in January 2021 for becoming pregnant while unmarried. Represented by Women Empowerment and Legal Aid, Miss Olajide challenged her dismissal in the National Industrial Court on grounds of gender discrimination. The court ruled in her favor, declaring the Police Regulation permitting her dismissal as unconstitutional.
Although the Inspector-General of Police appealed the judgment, the Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s ruling, affirming that such regulations were discriminatory and inconsistent with constitutional rights. Miss Olajide was reinstated to her former position following the appeal.
In a letter addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, Mrs Falana thanked the Police for honoring the court judgments, noting that this landmark case strengthens the protection of female officers’ rights and promotes gender equality within the Nigeria Police Force.
Below is the full letter by Mrs. Funmi Falana, SAN:
October 3, 2024
The Inspector-General of Police,
Police Force Headquarters,
Louis Edet House,
Abuja.
RE: SUIT NO: NICN/IK/14/2021 – MISS OMOLOLA OLAJIDE V. THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE & ORS.
Sometime in January 2021, Miss Omolola Olajide of the Ekiti Police Command was dismissed by the Nigeria Police Force for getting pregnant while she was unmarried, in accordance with Section 127 of the Police Regulations made pursuant to the Police Establishment Act 2020.
In a suit filed on behalf of Miss Omolola Olajide at the Akure Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court by our law firm, she challenged her dismissal on the ground that the Police authorities discriminated against her, since her male counterparts are not dismissed in similar circumstances.
In a landmark judgment delivered on January 11, 2023, the presiding Judge, Justice D. K. Damulak, held that the Police Regulation which permits the dismissal of unmarried pregnant police women is discriminatory, illegal, null, and void, as it violates Section 42 of the Constitution and Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, which has abolished discrimination on the basis of gender in Nigeria.
Dissatisfied with the judgment of the National Industrial Court, the Inspector-General of Police filed an appeal against it at the Court of Appeal. However, the appeal was dismissed in the case of Incorporated Trustees NBA v. AG Federation (2024) LPELR 62208 (CA), where the Court of Appeal, per Oyewole JCA, held:
“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.
The argument that the deprivation involved was consented to by prospective female police officers, who cannot subsequently complain, flies in the face of the constitutional provisions expressly granting them the rights involved as citizens of this country.
The rights given go beyond those for the personal benefit of the individuals involved as could be waived by them. They are public rights, which accord with the demands of a fair, equitable and humane society. These are standards and values demanded of modern nations, and which are outside the purview of any individual to waive.
I therefore hold that the said regulations 126 and 127 are inconsistent with the provisions of Section 37 and 42 of the Constitution and are therefore null and void to the extent of their inconsistency pursuant to Section 1 (3) of the Constitution.”
In view of the combined effect of the judgments of the National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal, we appealed to you to reinstate our client to the Nigeria Police Force. Following the appeal, our client has informed us that she was reinstated last week and posted to her former position in the Ekiti State Police Command.
While thanking you for reinstating our client to the Nigeria Police Force, please accept the assurances of our highest esteem and professional regards.
Yours sincerely,
Funmi Falana, SAN, FCI Arb.