‘The New Dress Code of the Nigeria Police is Illegal’, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN

On March 4, 2022, the Inspector-General of Police purported to unveil a new dress code for the Nigeria Police Force, especially female officers, who are to be allowed to wear coverings or hijab, etc. The religion of public officers, including members of the security agencies, should be a private matter to them. The Inspector-General of Police, is not competent to use the platform of his office to enforce religion.

Section 10 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, stipulates that Government and all its agencies should be neutral in religious matters. Section 42 of the same Constitution prohibits discrimination in all its ramifications. In this regard, there will be no end to confusion attending the new dress code prescribed by the IGP.
What will be the official uniform for Policewomen who are in the Catholic Church? How should Policemen and women who are in the Celestial Church dress up, when the practice of their church is against wearing shoes at all? And, how should traditionalists who are in the Police Force dress up, with charms and amulets round their uniforms?

The Nigeria Police has existed as an institution since 1945, and it is strange that of all the issues confronting that agency, such as low morale, poor welfare, poor infrastructure, poor training, poor welfare, etc, religious adornment should be the priority of the Inspector-General of Police.

The Police should focus on combatting crime, improve citizens engagement, and help guaranty safety of lives and property. The religious preferences of Policemen and women, should be their private matters.

the House of Representatives, women occupy only 22 seats, out of the 360 seats available. While I am not enthused about the addition of 111 extra seats as this would increase tremendously the running cost of the National Assembly over development expenditure, I believe that giving 35% quota to women within the existing framework is not too much to ask. This has been done in other countries of the world, including France and more recently, Rwanda.

It is on this premise that I urge the National Assembly, to critically reflect and reconsider these Bills with a view to creating a sense of inclusion, representation and participation by women in all spheres of endeavours amidst the recurring obstacles. My final word for now is that, ‘When you stop a woman you are stopping nature from giving its best to the society’.