Ekiti State Government has filed a suit against the Inspector General of Police, seeking the judicial review of section 127 of the Police Act and Regulations.

Section 127 of Police Act and Regulations says, “an unmarried woman police who becomes pregnant shall be discharged from the Force and shall not be enlisted except with the approval of the Inspector General of Police”.

Ekiti State attorney-general, Olawale Fapohunda, in a tweet on Sunday described section 127 of the Police Act as discriminatory and “in violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999( as amended).”

The Nigerian police law has always discriminated against women. The force often dismisses unmarried pregnant women from service, on the basis that the police forbids single women from getting pregnant, Peoples Gazette learnt.

In January, the police sacked a single female corporal from Ekiti, Olajide Omolola, for getting pregnant.

The Gazette reported in November that the Force dismissed 26 women cadet  for flouting the code of conduct and academic deficiency. 

Among the 26 dismissed cadet was a pregnant woman from the police academy. A senior officer Ibrahim Zanna exposed her pregnancy during the matriculation ceremony.