Category: Online Special

CLAIMS:

1) A female police officer needs to seek permission of the Commissioner of the police in the state where she is serving if she wants to get married;

2) That a female Police Commissioner is not allowed to take in till after two years of the official confirmation as an officer;

3) A single female police officer that gets pregnant will be discharged from the force;

4) A married woman cannot be enlisted as a female policewoman in Nigeria.

MOSTLY TRUE: The real question is what is going to be done about this? The viral nature of this particular issue is clearly evident and as to whether it will elicit a response from the government or its agencies is yet to be seen.

FULL TEXT

What started out over two weeks ago on a few threads has gone viral across several chat platforms.

Yes, several Whatsapp and Facebook chats have been circulating this message informing the public on the stringent rules and regulations made available to female police officers. The consensus is that these regulations do not reflect gender balance.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IsbCAnpMx_IydhSMO2LJczc1jqnKq6SFMdIbchoZaaU/edit

“Do you know that: 1)A single woman police officer that gets pregnant will be discharged from the force, it does…

The message sparked discourse across various circles in which it was shared. This was not only consequent on its controversial nature, but also as a result of the age of enlightenment and female empowerment in which we now live in.

https://www.legalnaija.com/2018/04/gender-equality-in-nigerian-police.html

It is against the backdrop of this intellectual drama and equality discourse, The Nation and Dubawa have decided to do a fact check on some of the claims.

VERIFICATION

Efforts to reach out to the Police Force- Public Relation Officer (FPRO), Frank Mba went unanswered. Text messages and WhatsApp messages were sent to him as his numbers were repeatedly unavailable. After a few days, he replied saying: “I will check and get back to you.” But as at the time of writing this report, he was yet to reply to the messages.

The next logical step in the research led to the Police Act and Regulations Cap P19, L.F.N, 2004 (the Act), Part V (5) titled ‘Enlistment , rank and file’.

Claim 1- TRUE: A female police officer needs to seek permission of the Commissioner of the Police in the state where she is serving if she wants to get married .

This particular claim has already attained viral coverage, BBC inclusive. However, we referred to Part 5- Sub-section 124 of the Act titled “Women police to apply for permission to marry”. It showed the claim is in fact true.

https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-48094432

Laws for how policewomen suppose behave inside Nigeria Police na wetin sabi pipo say don reach to change.

Claim 2- FALSE: A female Police Commissioner is not allowed to take in till after two years of the official confirmation as an officer.

This particular claim was not found present in any publicly accessible legislation or acts. However, section 125 of the Act (as seen in the green highlight in the image above) provides some insight. No “special privileges” is somewhat vague and is subject to various interpretations. Nonetheless, taking it literally means no disparity exists between married and unmarried women in the Nigerian Police Force.

Claim 3- TRUE: A single female police officer that gets pregnant will be discharged from the force.

We referred to subsection 127 of The Nigeria Police Regulations Part V. The section titled Pregnancy of unmarried women police (as seen in the purple highlight in the image above) confirms the veracity of the claim.

Claim 4- TRUE: A married woman cannot be enlisted as a female policewoman in Nigeria.

We also referred to the Act. Specifically, Nigeria Police Regulations 1 Part V Sub-section 118. Several platforms like Daily Trust amongst others covered this claim. It was emphasized in italics as seen in the screenshot below:

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/nigerias-police-act-could-encourage-gender-based-violence.html

CONCLUSION

Most of the claims are true. But the real question is what is going to be done about this?

The virality of this particular issue is clearly evident and as to whether it will elicit a response from the government or its agencies is yet to be seen.

August 23rd is the UN declared International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

To mark it, President Muhammadu Buhari published an opinion in the Washington Post newspaper.

Muhammadu Buhari: Slavery still exists – We must take action
Four centuries ago, the first 20 documented African slaves arrived on the shores of Virginia. In the years that followed, millions more were shipped in dehumanizing conditions across the ocean and enslaved. Slavery had, of course, existed before. But this indicated the beginning of a mechanized trade that saw human beings reduced to property on an unprecedented scale.

Despite the fact that descendants of African slaves have made valuable contributions across society, they are still dealing with the effects of this poisonous legacy. They still have to navigate its everyday manifestations, such as discrimination, racism or lack of access to resources and opportunities. This must not be overlooked or forgotten.

Yet, as we reflect on this day, International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition, it is clear slavery did not only thrive then. It still thrives today. Across the world it is estimated there are as many as 40 million men, women and children living in forced servitude. They are the industrial victims of a business many believe was abolished hundreds of years ago. They are the modern enslaved.

Their exploitation appears in many guises, though usually unrecognized as slavery. Many victims are unseen, hidden beneath opaque supply chains. Others are hidden in plain sight, entrapped by circumstances that rob them of autonomy. In any case, their labor, often dangerous, is no product of choice, and its conditions are self-perpetuating.

In Africa, its modern forms include debt bondage, the enslavement of war captives, commercial sexual exploitation and forced domestic servitude. Holding people held against their will, controlling their movements and forcing them to work for the sole profit of others — wherever they are — is slavery today and always.

The abolitionists of the 19th century succeeded more than any before: By working to extinguish the transatlantic slave trade that had claimed 15 million victims, they laid the groundwork to ensure it did not manufacture millions more. But their work is not done. We must take up their examples as we forge a path forward to eliminate modern-day slavery in all its forms.

Slavery, once again, has become entwined in the global economy — and it is largely unseen. For instance, most of us might know in principle that the mining of cobalt crucial to our smartphones might have used forced labor. But what do we know of those that experience it? Just as personal testimony and resulting public pressure led to the passing of the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in Britain in 1807, these stories must be told and used to inform policy. Once heard, they can elevate visceral reactions, driving the public pressure needed to ensure the application of anti-slavery laws.

One distinction from then and now is important: the costs. From records, adjusted for today’s prices, the cost of a human-being-as-property was valued on average at $40,000. Today, it is just $90, sometimes even lower. We must remember that slavery is not simply a campaign of hatred; it is the pursuit of profit. One way to extinguish it in its current forms, therefore, is to make it economically unfeasible. This means making sure that any anti-slavery laws have bite, come with strong penalties and are enforced.

It is also vital to have a robust tip-off and reporting system. Where this once meant detecting ships, today the signs are less conspicuous. The public must be shown how to see what is hidden in plain sight, particularly signs of suspicious behavior. This might seem broad. But vagueness should not give rise to reluctance to report anything that could be smuggling or forced servitude. If something doesn’t look right, report it, for you could be securing another human’s freedom.

In Nigeria, our anti-trafficking agency has rolled out the “Not for Sale” campaign to protect against the deceptions of human smugglers, helping those who might be vulnerable to false promises see through the ruse and say no. These prevention programs are crucial.

The appearance of slavery today might have changed. The institution has not. There are no radical solutions to conjure, only political will. But on this, we can learn from the past, the shadows in which modern slavery proliferates today.

It is not enough to mark this 400th anniversary. We must use it as a platform to eliminate slavery in all its present-day forms. We should reflect in memory to find a better future, one that should ensure freedom for all.