By Erewunmi Peace

The Federal High Court in Lagos has nullified a long-standing regulation in the Police Act that restricted female police officers from marrying freely, describing it as discriminatory and unconstitutional.

The regulation, known as Regulation 124, required a female police officer to serve for at least three years and obtain written permission from her State Commissioner of Police before getting married. In 2012, Justice Stephen Adah of the Federal High Court ruled that this provision violated Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom from discrimination.

More recently, in May 2024, the Court of Appeal also struck down Regulations 126 and 127 of the same Act. These provisions allowed the dismissal of unmarried female officers who became pregnant. The court held that such rules amounted to gender discrimination and infringed on women’s fundamental rights.

The Nigeria Police Force has since acknowledged these rulings and announced that the discriminatory clauses have been expunged from its regulations.

Women’s rights groups have hailed the decisions as a “major victory” for gender equality in Nigeria’s security sector.

With these reforms, female police officers in Nigeria can now marry without restrictions and cannot be dismissed on account of pregnancy, marking a significant step toward equality in law enforcement.